The word of the Eternal, (or rather the word which came to Jeremiah from the Eternal, saying : Verse 2: "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words."
Pottery making was commonplace in Jerusalem, during the times of antiquity. Though no longer, so we can still today understand and relate to. God used this illustration to teach how He works with people. So there's a direct correlation and analogy of how a potter works with clay, how God works with people.
We all have a lot to learn. Whether we are going to be open to it, is a choice we have to make. Life has its unique ways, effective teachers, and interesting tools to teach us the things that are meant for us and we unknowingly implore upon to be taught to us, shown to us, be lead to. Lessons we must learn, remember and apply. They say : God is a potter and we are clay, being moulded by his mighty hand.
In my life too, there have been many people who have walked in and unknowingly made me think about myself. About who I am, about who I want to be, about my life, my love, my thoughts, what makes me.. me :)
Most meetings and conversations have been most serendipitous.
What I learned long back is: to be open to what anyone tells me, I have to first empty my cup. When I do that, I am able to absorb so much more. My own opinions and ideas stop coming in the way of letting me see further than I could earlier. It is a humbling feeling to learn something about yourself from someone you have interacted with, maybe over a period of time or even just once. The amount of time has always been irrelevant. The content of the meetings / conversations has always been such an eye opener for me. Leading me to inner paths I never knew existed. Leading me to the answers I searched my whole life.. the question so often being : who am I ?
An important thing I also learned how important my values are to me. If I say I’m honest, the fact that I want to uphold this, is extremely important to me. But over the past couple of years, I wondered if honesty is over rated and sometimes doesn’t pay? I have always been a very honest person. About the people I speak to, conversations or the meetings and interactions I had with various friends over a period of time. Some of whom I have met in person, after knowing them on FB and having the pleasure of actually meeting, was wonderful. There is always so much to learn. So, while I was honest because I saw no wrong in making new friends, all the while, what I never realised, everything got interpreted in the wrong way and things got out of hand. When a person is hurt, he / she stops having the ability, even if for a short while to see beyond it. When a person believes what they do, there is no one who can change the way they think, unless they are open to “emptying their cup“ so to speak. It made me feel that honesty was indeed a sham. If honesty is a sham, then what is solution..... lying?
But then, as I said, life teaches us in unique ways and who else should I learn from but a potter, so to speak , who moulded me back into shape and made me see that it wasn’t my honesty that was at fault. It was the way I tried to convey my message across when someone is beyond listening that was the problem. It was about making them see my feelings, and at the same time sensing their delicate state of mind. There are 2 sides of a coin. When one can only see the bad part, it will take some time to slowly draw them into the good part. No one likes being dragged into what they don’t want to, in the first place. If it has to be done, it takes time and effort. Rome wasn’t built in a day. In all of this, it was my attitude I had to focus on, not anyone else’s. I can only change myself. But when I do that, it creates a ripple effect. That was what the potter taught me.
I also realised in all this time, that I am a judgemental person, despite saying I’m not. The awareness I felt suddenly about each thought I have, about people , the opinions I made about them, about the way situations are, has suddenly become something that I’m automatically aware of constantly. This is something I have wanted to do for years. But while I tried to do it consciously earlier, now, it is happening unconsciously. And I feel blessed. It is a great reflective time for me. I’m in a space and energy I feel, I have never been before. Each and everything that I wanted, for myself, comes to me, so unconsciously that I am humbled. While I know that there are certain things I must do or say, I now also realise that everyone has their own capacity and ability to absorb anything anyone else has to say, and appreciating that, they must be given time and space to accept all that is said.
What also has become very apparent to me is that, I’m happier than God, when I’m able to realise and analyse all these feelings and address them. I like being true to myself.
Imagine how astute is that potter, who can see that slight defect, a little something somewhere that needs fixing. And the potter is able to smash it down and redo it to perfection. That’s what we are. Perfect the way we are born, an image of Krishna, really. But it’s the thoughts and ideas that get in the way and change us into people we no longer understand or associate with.
I have been on Facebook since 2008. In all this time, I have enjoyed every bit of it, though sometimes I wondered why people said certain stuff which didn’t agree with me. It was then I was also told by one of my Facebook friends ( again, note the potter’s hand ) recently, that this is a platform, a space, where we can freely express what we want and it doesn’t always have to agree with anyone else, but never lose respect for that person’s right to free expression. It is not important for everyone to agree or disagree. It is a great place for humour, debates, challenges and why, even tomfoolery. What I realised was, we all have so many problems which we cannot run away from, but we can laugh along the way, have intelligent conversations and exchange views and ideas and learn so much, through this platform. Make lifelong friends who are truly precious. Life will be tough, it’s never easy. Laughter is the best medicine. Don’t forget to have fun along the way.
I have made many friends along the way, who have shaped the way I think in a lot of ways. It has been an honour to know each one. It is with deep respect that I say, some of them make me who I am, made me see who I am, made me love who I am. These special people have changed the way I look at things for the better. Facebook has a lot of bad publicity so often. It isn’t Facebook that’s bad, it is unwarranted thoughts and beliefs that are bad. Very few appreciate the goodness of it. This is my small way of saying thanks to Facebook for making me come across the friends I made who in turn, helped me find myself and be myself.
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