Friday, November 18, 2005

impressionable perspectives...

one of the most important lessons that a western living has taught me, is 'being a self-starter and being self-dependant for most things'... while there could be many arguements to this depending on the environmental conditions related to being-dependant-on-others as to why it is better in certain situations considering the greater good, it sure is still is a set of excuses created to defend something done without any realization whatsoever...

if the last paragraph was a bit unclear in terms of expressing my point of view on menial labour, and conditions in which they happen, i'd like to elaborate more here... while growing up in one of the more conservative cities in a normally conservative country (as it is progressively being westernized in idealogies and practise, and maybe it will transform eventually), getting help for everyday chores was just considered normal... this would not just reduce the amount of menial work that one had to do, but also was a stream for potential employment opportunities, in a country with a huge population and a very low annual per capita income, even in cities... maybe because i was too young, or maybe because i did not even know how bright the sun could be at the other end of the planet, i had not even thought about these things when i was in those tender formative years... before explaining further, i'd also like to mention that i do not claim either of these two sides of the coin to be a better one, but just trying to think about the pros and cons of either side...

a core reason why the average energy level, in a country such as India, is so high, is undoubtedly the fact that people are so well bonded and connected to each other... all said and done about family troubles, political corrupt, or infrastructural deficiencies or population-density-explosion, or whatever else, there are so many positives that exist that i personally feel fortunate to have gained so much out of... this includes qualities like family values, honest virtues, fundamental principles in being a good citizen, focus on primary education (although there could be a million debates on sub-aspects of this), and the list goes on...

a few lessons from the western world (not the hyped up western culture in the east, by people who have no idea about the life of an average person in the west), like having to be a self-starter, having to take care of one's personal requirements to keep pace with the rest of the world, having to maintain an inter-personal relationship with friends, acquaintences and business network contacts, and having the enthusiasm, zeal and hunger for more... when coupled with the simple core concepts from the eastern world of living, its becomes a sweet algorithm to implement and practise...

taking the positives from both worlds is definitely one of the most beautiful of things, and it sure gives one a lot of pleasure in enjoying everyday moments... however, the most important point being: the flip side where negatives from both ends of the world are taken and put into practise, could be the worst thing to do!

5 comments:

Jyothsana Chandramohan said...

Well..first one,wherever you are self help is the best help.
Second, you (talking in general terms)have only you to yourself.

All others are jst your fellow adventurers. I paraphrase from "There s no such place as far away"(Richard Bach).

Arvind M Venugopal said...

@j sea: i can probably agree to your first point, but dont quite agree completely with your second... yes, there are people who may concur with your second point, but little do they realize to how many people's lives you are of such value!

Jyothsana Chandramohan said...

Value or impact/ influence (I meant positive)

Arvind M Venugopal said...

@j sea: not just value in terms of being an influence, but also merely being there for them as part of their lives...

for instance: the moon seldom knows that the river reflecting its image on its surface, is actually serving to be a pleasant memory to an incidental observer... but it sure does become of significance that this happens, to shape the mind of a memory-filled observer...

Jyothsana Chandramohan said...

Nice example!