Man's pursuit towards excellence leads him to pursue/make efforts to think creatively and out of the box. One such e.g I witnessed today was this movie named "Lucy". Gone are those days where a movie was made "just for entertainment". Many of the movies today have become intellectually stimulating. A very important statement/dialogue delivered in this film lead me to asking this question: Are we humans really more concerned today with having than being? Why does this happen and more importantly what can be done about it?
The above questions lead me to do some "google research" (well that's the easy way out today). I came across and found some valid questions/raised by a German psychologist named Erich Fromm. He explained the difference between having and being. One is about property and ownership (having) and the other, is about activity and doing things (being). His idea was to spend less time trying to own things and more time doing things. This, he believed, is the best solution to our problems.
Erich had once asked a question for the world to ponder upon: If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then I am?....Well, thought provoking indeed and that is what I did after reading all of the above.....
My observations as below:
In today's world of cut throat competition and the game of rat race, we tend to sway away from the fact of life which is that we are defined by three things: what we think we are, what others think we are and what we really are. However, many times nay most of the times we use our possessions as means of defining us. As someone has rightly put:We buy things we do not need, with money we do not have, to keep up with people we don't even like.
I guess we need to understand that maybe we should stop being concerned of what we can have and start thinking about what we can be. Well, if it was that simple, woudn't this world be a much better place to be. The dumb mind that I have...dont worry, I am smart... its my mind you see that keeps tricking me and to make it understand I look for examples to teach it a lesson. The best example that struck me was an incident that happened a few days back
My dad was returning from his evening walk (perks of a retired person) when a young man approached him and said, "Uncle, hi, u might not remember me but i used to be Bhat Aunty's student". My father recognized this young man named Pulkit and invited him for a cup of tea so that he could meet Mom. The usual catching up happened and mom started asking him about his other batchmates. Pulkit talked about his friend Nitin who used to also be my mom's student. Pulkit recalled his discussion a few years back he had with Nitin regarding career and Nitin had told him that he wanted to be a doctor. The reason was that he wanted to give the best treatment and provide the best medical care to his favourite teacher "Bhat Ma'm" who used to have lot of back related troubles. Hearing this statement, we all became speechless. I could see tears of joy rolling down the cheeks of my Mom. I am sure she felt she had fulfilled her existence/purpose of life. She was a proud teacher. This made me thinking. My mom was a teacher in Mumbai at a time when professional teaching had started becoming a lucrative career. She could have easily ran behind the concept of having more students to come to her class.. charging exhorbitant tuition fees (which she could have easily earned given her talent).....but she stuck to being a good teacher.Well, if you ask her today she would say she is very wealthy today with the abundant notes of well wishers and successful and bright students like Nitin and Pulkit..the list goes on...
However, the mind, given its fice nature, starts playing tricks again here and asks..Does it mean I remain poor and not possess wealth, not pursue success... Well ...The answer is simple O Monkey mind...The moment you strive towards being, you will automatically start achieving things and reaching heights never imagined.......As the hero rightly puts it in the movie 3 idiots " Dont run behind sucess. Follow excellence and sucees will run behind you"... Well, hope I learn something from this .....
The above questions lead me to do some "google research" (well that's the easy way out today). I came across and found some valid questions/raised by a German psychologist named Erich Fromm. He explained the difference between having and being. One is about property and ownership (having) and the other, is about activity and doing things (being). His idea was to spend less time trying to own things and more time doing things. This, he believed, is the best solution to our problems.
Erich had once asked a question for the world to ponder upon: If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then I am?....Well, thought provoking indeed and that is what I did after reading all of the above.....
My observations as below:
In today's world of cut throat competition and the game of rat race, we tend to sway away from the fact of life which is that we are defined by three things: what we think we are, what others think we are and what we really are. However, many times nay most of the times we use our possessions as means of defining us. As someone has rightly put:We buy things we do not need, with money we do not have, to keep up with people we don't even like.
I guess we need to understand that maybe we should stop being concerned of what we can have and start thinking about what we can be. Well, if it was that simple, woudn't this world be a much better place to be. The dumb mind that I have...dont worry, I am smart... its my mind you see that keeps tricking me and to make it understand I look for examples to teach it a lesson. The best example that struck me was an incident that happened a few days back
My dad was returning from his evening walk (perks of a retired person) when a young man approached him and said, "Uncle, hi, u might not remember me but i used to be Bhat Aunty's student". My father recognized this young man named Pulkit and invited him for a cup of tea so that he could meet Mom. The usual catching up happened and mom started asking him about his other batchmates. Pulkit talked about his friend Nitin who used to also be my mom's student. Pulkit recalled his discussion a few years back he had with Nitin regarding career and Nitin had told him that he wanted to be a doctor. The reason was that he wanted to give the best treatment and provide the best medical care to his favourite teacher "Bhat Ma'm" who used to have lot of back related troubles. Hearing this statement, we all became speechless. I could see tears of joy rolling down the cheeks of my Mom. I am sure she felt she had fulfilled her existence/purpose of life. She was a proud teacher. This made me thinking. My mom was a teacher in Mumbai at a time when professional teaching had started becoming a lucrative career. She could have easily ran behind the concept of having more students to come to her class.. charging exhorbitant tuition fees (which she could have easily earned given her talent).....but she stuck to being a good teacher.Well, if you ask her today she would say she is very wealthy today with the abundant notes of well wishers and successful and bright students like Nitin and Pulkit..the list goes on...
However, the mind, given its fice nature, starts playing tricks again here and asks..Does it mean I remain poor and not possess wealth, not pursue success... Well ...The answer is simple O Monkey mind...The moment you strive towards being, you will automatically start achieving things and reaching heights never imagined.......As the hero rightly puts it in the movie 3 idiots " Dont run behind sucess. Follow excellence and sucees will run behind you"... Well, hope I learn something from this .....
