It’s
strange how, sometimes, try as you may, you cannot put into words what you’re
feeling or going through. I feel that now. And yet, when I recalled these words
from If by Rudyard Kipling, they seemed to trace the shape of my thoughts,
albeit with an infinitely surer and steadier hand…
If
you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If
you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If
you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or
being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
There
is a general belief in the wisdom of the majority or the mighty. One accepts
without question the logic of ‘they know better’—as kids, your parents or
teachers know better. As you grow older, the authority figures change but there
is always someone who ‘knows better’, and whose guidance you need to follow
without question. While I wouldn’t advocate replacing absolute docility with
absolute arrogance, how about crediting yourself with some sense and thinking
for yourself for a change? A lot of ills in the world would disappear if people
weren’t lazy enough to accept everything ‘they who know better’ have said, and
tried to judge things for themselves. Maybe we would all be a lot more
conscious of our actions because we would then be directly responsible for
their consequences—not just the ones who presumably should have ‘known better’.
posted by Sylvia D'souza at 6:53 pm
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