Perspective - This is Mine, What's yours?

I remember a line from the movie “Taare Zameen Par” – Jo dikhta hai wo hota nahi, jo hota hai wo dikhta nahi. Jo nahi dikhta wo hota hai, jo nahi hota wo dikhta hai.

I think it is true and happens all the time around us which we call “Perception”. We all are unique. Just as our fingerprints differ from one another, our lenses of viewing also differ, sometimes minutely and at times vastly with any other person.

Let us understand it from a few illustrations. Have a look at the below picture. At first glance:

What do you see? What do you think of? What do you relate to?

I think we will have similar and different views. For example, some would say that it is a black and white picture, some would say that the word “Black & White” is written in exactly opposite backgrounds, some would say it is a colourful picture (as it has more than one colour). It might remind us of various things – a Television set, or a school blackboard, or an old movie, or to some a source for unwinding over the weekends (you know what I mean 😉).

Let us take another example:

What do you see? A six, or a nine, or a single quote lying down, or a symbol from the ancient civilization (Woah! That is a bit of a stretch).

The point that I want to convey is that our thoughts and perceptions might differ widely and wildly. Through perception, we form different perspectives. They are influenced by a variety of factors – our surroundings, the places where we grew up, societal norms and practices, our field of study, our field of work, a recent encounter with someone or something, and many more.

At the back of our minds, we all know that we are different individuals, yet we are tempted into “differences” based on the belief that MY PERCEPTION & MY PERSPECTIVE (my way of thinking) is correct and it has to be the only way. I ask WHY? Why don’t we celebrate various thoughts from so many wonderful people around us? Why have we unknowingly become slaves of our own thoughts? Why don’t we let our thoughts wander beyond the mental barrier of apparent RIGHT and WRONG? We can have so many diverse perspectives of the same thing if only we are open to acknowledging them. Some would argue that it is just a waste of time and instead we can do other important work. Maybe, or maybe not. Maybe the one idea or perspective that you did not listen to could have made a drastic improvement. I am sure that there are people out there who understand this and practice it. If we talk to them, I can guarantee, you will be amazed at their point of view and analysis. We can learn not only from books and tutorials but from everyone around; just need to have an open mindset to at-least listen.