KHADIJAH BAWAZEERInventors and geniuses who enrich humanity as well as their countries usually permit themselves to go beyond the average and the mundane into new unexplored worlds. They allow themselves to dream yet they are well grounded and connected to their roots. As individuals and as groups, they work with details but never get lost in them. They retain their compass to lead them back when they wander too far off the track. These men and women find purpose and joy in their lives. For many of us, however, life does not seem to fall into place most of the time or sometimes it does and sometimes it just goes off the track and we end up feeling bad and sour but we are not sure why. Interestingly, scientists have found that when you feel bad, your immunity goes down and you become susceptible to disease, which may be very convenient because physical sickness is explainable to others and it can justify presumed failures. People sympathize with it and understand it rather than ridicule it. However, suffering physically or psychologically may not be all that bad. Sometimes, it is a way to open up the closed congested box that is us. It can just be an eye opener, a part of growing up. This reminds me of a Chinese proverb that does not cease to fascinate me. It is a very concise truism that says: “Mountains, no mountains, mountains". One way of reading this profound saying refers to the way we perceive things at different stages of our lives. As young people, we tend not to distinguish details but rather notice only the overall picture. As we get older and more experienced in life, we begin to recognize details. Eventually, we may become so involved in the details, we fail to see the overall picture, i.e., the mountains. In other words, we get lost in the details. Wisdom comes at a later age when we can zoom in and out and move smoothly and quickly between the overall picture and the details - the mountains and the no mountains; when we can perceive the big picture as well as the details and arrive at the second mountain. This is a point of balance without fear at which we can feel happy and satisfied. Reaching such a level of maturity means that we allow ourselves to delve into horizons beyond the regular limited scope to find bliss and joy. The inventors and geniuses I mentioned earlier were able to zoom in and out from the mountains to the no mountains and back. Of course, such freedom means taking a risk and maybe even an intuitive leap of faith. Allowing ourselves to explore and possibly fail could raise wonderful possibilities that would enrich life and give us courage for fresh, healthy and happy new beginnings. —The writer can be reached at [email protected]
