I often fall into the counseling mode, which, sarcastically
enough, in the past had motivated my friends to christen me “Banker”- who
listens to their secrets and keeps them safe. One of my friends recently told
me she was sad as she saw herself as an outcast, a sore thumb sticking out of
this world. I may not be a psychologist, or a theorist for that matter, but I
told her something that I thought was true. I don’t know whether I am good with
theories, but this one I thought I should write down. She agreed and told me that
it made her smile.
I had seen an advertisement by Apple Inc., one of their
“Think Different” campaigns. Being a follower of the brand and the philosophy
of radically revolutionizing the way people look at products and their use, I
found it intriguing. Taking a cue from this ad, which portrayed legends in their
making, outcasts from the society, and outlaws by nature rising up to the
stature of the elite, I formed a theory in a few seconds. After I typed it out
to her, I felt the theory made sense in many dimensions.
The thought went like this (descriptive here): “A right fit
in a society would move on, move around and do things to better self, or
his/her immediate beneficiaries. He/she changes things for self benefit. On the
other hand, misfits take away the existing status quo, through struggle but
with a definite vision. They lift the pain off many, becoming legendary stars
in the eyes of the society, which called them misfits once. Ironically, the so-called
right-fits sense the air of change and starts looking up at the misfits in awe.
They start following them, adapting to their ways because their capability is
limited to the circumstance they live in, incapable of drifting from what has
been followed by others. It is this very fact that differentiates leaders from
followers, visionaries from laymen.”
I have no references to give for this theory, because it
arose out of my common sense. I may give examples from history, from Mahatma
Gandhi to Mother Teresa to Swami Vivekananda. Sometimes, we do not realize the
fact that we are evolving, just like our ancestors did. When we analyze our
lives critically and philosophically, we may remain with a single question:
“When the moment of change had arrived, were you the one who initiated it, or
were you the one to follow it?”
Gracias,
ßąரK૯ર
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