Tuesday, April 8, 2008

I understand it is not the question of whose mistake it is in relationship;it is the question of whose life it is.

In an accident, irrespective of whose mistake it is, if you are injured you suffer the injury. The fact that it was the other person's mistake lessens neither your injury nor the pain from it. Why just speak of an injury? It could have been fatal too. On the road, we readily understand that it is not the question of whose mistake it is, but the question of whose life it is. On the road, we have to accept the differences and the limitations of other drivers, and the responsibility is 'ours and ours alone' to manoeuvre through the traffic.To not hit and to not get hit - both are our responsibility; blaming the other is futile.Then, why haven't we understood that on the road called life, in dealing with the traffic called relationships, we have to accept the differences and limitations of other people, and yet the responsibility is 'ours and ours alone' to grow in relationships. Blaming the other is futile. Responsibility is to respond with ability.
The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your experiences. Experience is the meeting point of 'you' and 'your world'. So, if you need to improve the quality of your life, you have to improve the quality of your experiences, which means you have to improve the quality of the interaction between 'you' and 'your world'. While your world may not always be in your control, you are. It only takes one person to change your life, and that's 'you'. Instead of accepting yourself as you are and expecting the world to change, accept the world as it is and you
start changing - at least change your approach towards the world. A good sailor knows that he cannot change the direction of the wind to reach his destination; what he needs to do is to adjust his sails.The answer is in the road sign 'U-turn'. It doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong. After all, you cannot get your life right by convincing the world that it is wrong. So, 'You turn', instead of expecting the world to turn. The stiffest tree breaks most easily while the bamboo survives by bending with the wind.If my success depends on when the market condition improves, harmony in the family depends on when the husband changes, happiness depends on when friends change… then the quality of my life is left at the mercy of the world. On the contrary, if I can keep asking myself - given these market conditions, what can I do; accepting that my husband is like this, what can I do now, I will gain control over my life.Tell your world - 'Life is beautiful because of you. Life is beautiful in spite of you'.

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