The vast majority navigates through life,
constantly extinguishing
the fires of their daily inner turmoil and conflicts —
fires ignited by relationships, work, routines, regrets, expectations,
control or even the frustration of traffic jams.
This is the mental space
where most reside, and dwell
each day.
Another day goes by,
and the mind continues to chase moments of pleasure.
Pleasure which are fleeting,
serving only to plug the leaks in an otherwise restless life.
A man is always seeking a way out of his daily mental agony.
But,
where can one go? –
Who will listen? Who will understand?
Conversations with friends and family,
gurus, or life coaches may offer some insights,
but rarely unlock the doorway
to where one’s problems truly resides.
They seldom lead one to a place where one feels understood.
Such conversations are rare.
Not for lack of intent,
But for lack of depth.
Their intentions,
in all likely hood are benevolent.
They can only give what they have.
Winters of north, can only give cold.
Where can one go? Who will understand?
As I have understood,
quality of one’s questions largely defines quality of his life
and not the answers he gives himself.
For answers often lead one astray
and a wise man,
is the one who ask –
the right questions.
Questions that hold the potential to let one see
life anew —
questions that can possibly elevate one’s daily living
and bring quiet peace to the restless mind.
But in our society,
the attachment to be heard far exceeds desire to listen and understand.
Where can one go?
Intellectuals bring their intellectualism,
spiritualist bring their spiritualism,
and others bring the baggage of their own conditioning and experience.
Most of which remain unscrutinized.
A spiritual person may sit atop
a mountain of spiritual ego,
from where sermons and benedictions soon flow.
An intellectual lives under burden of his intellect,
too eager to share his methods or passages
from the pages of books, he holds dear –
both of which may be far from his own path.
Advice is given too quickly, obliviously at times,
based on the assumption that the question has been accessed and framed correctly.
Where can one go?
To truly connect and understand another human being,
one must be willing to meet him where he silently resides.
Underneath the mask and costumes,
he dons daily.
A man’s inner world must be understood and
respected without judgement first.
Only then one can hear his unspoken words.
Before asking other to act with wisdom,
the one who speaks must first live and
act with some wisdom.
He must have reached a certain level of maturity
to his own inner world –
a place where his relationship with himself
stems from peace and clarity.
To merely say,
“Let go of the past, move on, be happy,
learn meditation or chanting, visit an ashram,
read a self-help book, practise forgiveness”,
are not just modicum of half-truths, they are just disingenuous.
Where can one go?
Who has the wisdom? who will understand?
My friend, rare are such individuals.
Wise words have been said –
“Humans being are not so hungry to be diagnosed but hungry to be listened and understood.”
In the end,
we all long to be heard,
not through words,
but through understanding.
And when that happens,
even silence begins to speak.
Sathya