Walk a mile in other's shoes

 Yesterday I took a cab ride and my driver started chatting up about things around us. How begging was not good for society, how the pandemic has affected his life and so on and so forth. Me being an inquisitive self was glad to learn about how various people in society think about things in general.

Then the twist occurred in the story just like an Ekta Kapoor drama when he suddenly said those three deadly words “Madam Bura mat manana (ma’am don’t feel offended)”; and that moment I knew I will be furious on what he will say next, but I kept calm and asked him to proceed….he started giving me his two cents of advice about how lemon water will help me reduce weight, how I should workout and so on and so forth.

I just smiled left the cab and went to work; but this thought kept creeping in my mind…it affected me so much that I felt like penning down my thoughts and adding my two cents to the vast knowledge of society.

So, I was amazed that how we are so quick to judge people about anything. I mean everyone just wants you to fit in the box made by people, fashion, media, influencers etc. It is ingrained in our minds from a very tender age that a certain look, a certain type, a certain color, a certain gender, a certain caste, a certain creed etc. will always be successful because they fall in the typical framework of society.

People who are born different, have certain uniqueness to them or are a different version than that of society are always commented upon…you are to tall, too short, too dark, too fair, too thin, too fat, too girly, too manly....I mean the person who lives in that body is well aware about themselves…hello we see a mirror regularly, but; these comments break their spirit, making them busy to fight their internal demons rather than facing and conquering world.

I am fully aware that people who fall in the typical framework of society also do not have it easy as they have to keep working hard to keep that image and are brutally judged on an everyday minor mistake.

So, it is difficult to fall in the society framework and also difficult if you are not in that framework. That seems like a “catch 22” situation leading to world full of unhappy people, people unwilling to love thy self and people shy of reaching their true potential.

So, what we do?

First and foremost, it is not wrong to be concerned about a person or their health and suggest them to improve themselves and become a better version of themselves, but, only and only if you feel that it will help them grow.

Secondly, appreciate people in the own unique way, like we appreciate nature with its different colors and features. I mean have you really asked a plant why are you so green or suggested a plant to do proper photosynthesis because it has not grown aptly like others.

Last and definitely not the least be emphatic to people, try to understand the struggles, the stories and the realities about their situation before judging them or cancelling them. This will help you to not only be less judgmental but also enhance your perception towards things around you.