The Biggest Lesson Of Them All

 

Dear Readers,

The pleasantly cold wave that has taken over Mumbai, pronouncedly over the past week, has brought in much relief to us all. At some places, especially in the baugs and the burbs, it gets quite nippy, but we’re all good with that because it’s a welcome change from the usual sweat and grime. Just like the rains are a welcome change from the summers and the post-monsoon season is a welcome change from all the slush and sludge. But that’s just the all-powerful Mother Nature telling us how it’s done, how it’s meant to be. Change is meant to be, and it occurs in every aspect of life, beyond seasons. Change is the very essence of Nature – it symbolises life and growth. And change will happen, with or without our volition – the naïve abhor it, the intelligent adapt to it, the wise embrace it.

As seasons change, as the larva metamorphoses into a butterfly, as we grow from infancy to old age, as technology advances, as newer medical breakthroughs are ascertained, as newer space dimensions are discovered forcing us to change our hitherto assumptions – right from the time we fervently believed the earth was flat – the one thing we need to glean and imbibe, beyond the obvious, is that change is, indeed, the end result of all true learning. As an intelligent species, but moreso, as a Community heralded as one of the most wise, intelligent and progressive, we owe it to ourselves to truly internalize the importance of change – be it in terms of habits or more importantly, mindsets.

Our mindset determines our openness to change, and therefore directly impacts our growth – mentally, emotionally and physically. The unyielding mindset, which opposes change, has people believe that their basic qualities, like intelligence or talent, are fixed traits. A sense of self-righteousness and entitlement pervades over all else, and they nurture the preference for documenting instead of developing their intelligence and talent. They also believe that talent alone will creates success — without putting in effort. Obviously, they’re in for a huge disillusionment when proven wrong, and then look to place the blame outside instead of going in for a course-correction. On the other hand, a growth-oriented mindset which embraces change, has people believe that intelligence and talent is just a launch pad or a starting point, and their basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Needless to say, this open mindset creates scope for learning through failure and a resilience for self-correcting, which leads to great success and further growth.

It is important to nurture and develop an attitude open to change. The great Bernard Shaw has said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” More than ever, as a Community, we need to understand and respect this fundamental reality because only a change in our minds and hearts will facilitate the much needed unity that is missing but crucial, to take on and solve the challenges that we are riddled with today. We worship Nature. Let’s learn the biggest lesson of them all that Nature teaches – Change!

 

– Anahita