M ~ Maintain your perspective [A to Z Challenge]

Mr Khurana, a teacher by profession, was in class today, he was upset due to one of his students’ behavior and wanted to tell a story to his students. He starts narrating the story, “A cruise ship met with an accident and it called for evacuation of all its passengers. While the last couple was trying to make their way to life boat, they realized that this was the last life boat that could accommodate only one person, man immediately pushed his wife behind him and jumped onto the lifeboat to save himself. The lady kept staring at the lifeboat and shouted only one sentence to her husband." “What do you think she shouted”, teacher asks.

Most of the students responded saying – “I hate you, I was mad and now I feel betrayed”.

Only one boy had a different answer, and he said that woman must have shouted, “Take care of our child” and Mr Khurana started nodding affirming that this was the right answer.

Mr. Khurana continued the story by telling his students that the woman ended up dying while man came back home bringing up their son single-handedly. Many years after, his son found man’s diary while cleaning up his belongings. He started reading the diary and came to know that his mother was already diagnosed with cancer and had short period of life left when his parents left for a cruise expedition. He also wrote in the diary “How much I wished that we could spend few more moments together, sinking to the bottom of the sea hand in hand; but for the sake of our son, I had to let you die and lie forever below the sea Alone”

The class was silent and Mr Khurana knew that his student had finally been able to interpret the moral of the story. He concluded by saying, “Always maintain your perspective”

Stephen Hawking, one of the most respected authorities in the area of Physics, has said that our planet is a very average star located within outer limits of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies. Isn’t that a shift in perspective?  Are our troubles really high? Are the problems we’ve been experiencing on day-to-day basis are as grave as we have made them out to be? Hence the lesson is – “Always maintain your perspective”

So today onwards, when your friend comes to you and apologize, or your better half says sorry; keep in your mind that they are not doing it because you are right and they are wrong; it’s because they value people more than their ego. Next time, when you observe a very proactive person at your work, or even at club who is ready to take up any task; understand that they are not stupid but they understand the concept of responsibility.

That average kid in your school who always used to be in dirty clothes and never completed his homework on time, never had his own parents and was adopted by his uncle & aunt who couldn’t give him the attention and time he deserved.

That only loner guy in your class whom you’ve never seen having a real conversation with anyone except the teacher, was sexually harassed by his uncle at the mare age of 9 and he became so fearful that he’d never interact with anyone except his parents and teacher.

And the man who is sleeping like a baby between two sleeper seats (second class train compartment) in train, is a soldier who had to go on an emergency leave after doing his 24 hours guard duty because his wife was expecting baby in a day or two!!

There is always a better, wiser, and more informed way of looking at these apparently negative situations. And it is very important to “maintain our perspective”

Did you also apply a one sided perspective to something that needed to be looked into more maturely, or when did you maintain your perspective when you encountered a negative situation last time, why don't you share that with us?