Mirrors

...Yesterday while strolling down the road in the evening I happened to hear a conversation...rather an argument between a couple. Now frankly speaking i am not much into eavesdropping(however thrilling the prospect may look) and i know we hate to admit the fact that we all have eavesdropped sometimes and i also know that we humans as a self gratifying species hate to admit all the things not acceptable by social standards. Sorry that i digressed from the topic. So what i overheard were bits of an argument which went something like this (given below is english translated version of the conversation)

man: now why the hell are you upset. please try to understand.

woman: why don't YOU understand me and for a change see my perspective.

man: you know you are impossible.

woman:forget it!

I had slowed down my pace and the man now noticed that i was eavesdropping on them and one stare was enough to make me leave. But i was left with a question in mind. A question that perturbed me throughout the evening and that was what was the real cause of the argument. And though it may appear that the real cause was never mentioned in the conversation but the reality as i see it is different. The reality was that through the entire conversation the very reason was repeated a number of times and the reason was "lack of understanding". As a ruminated over it while walking i realized that we humans want to be surrounded by mirrors.

Confused? Let me elaborate. We humans want people around us to understand us and what they call as understanding i call desperate effort to find an image of oneself in others. All we want is world to silently approve of out ideas and if they don't then they don't "understand" us. i think "understanding" is a really misused word. What it has come to imply is that a person is not entitled to have his own opinion about the subject if he "understands" you on that subject. An if understanding means what it has come to mean then i guess understanding someone is a silent surrender of your free will. And trying to understand someone is a willing effort to surrender you free will which i guess is not what humanity should strive for.

---parishrut

(the outcast)