As human beings, we are all programmed to ignore the usual, the common, and the regular. The more something becomes a part of our life, the more we seem to take it for granted. You might disregard it saying it’s human nature. After all, what good is it anyway?
Not so long ago, my one year old nephew (who’s pretty smart for his age) came along and started to tug my shirt, pulling me as if he wanted to show something. I kind of ignored it (told you, we adults are really good at it). He kept on being persistent until he got me up to follow him into the living room. As soon as I entered it, I was astonished to see him childishly asking me in his own language to fix up this painting on the wall, which wasn’t straight.
I was extremely surprised by the fact that something that went unnoticed or blatantly ignored by us grown ups, was observed by an infant. That definitely kicked gears in my mind. A child had suddenly made things so crystal clear to me and sparked ideas in a way never imagined before.
My point here is, that it’s nothing new that we tend to overlook small yet vital things in life, which might make a big difference if worked upon. For me, the painting represented life and its frame our habits, skills, knowledge, character etc. Usually, instead of concentrating on building the right habits or putting in the effort to acquire the right skills, we wonder why are things so messed up or not going our way. We keep looking for answers to questions which are heavily skewed themselves, not knowing the solution lies in fixing up the “frame” surrounding our life. Common sense is to tweak the basic nuts and bolts, which hold our stuff together.
Be it work or home, be it your family or friends, unless you set the external factors to support your internal self, this painting called life will most definitely look crooked. I never knew the innocence of a child would change my view of looking at many critical aspects so drastically. It’s amazing to learn how giving importance and priority to the minor changes can have a major, positive impact rippling into the future. The formula seems simple to me: get the smallest details right and you will never have to worry about the big picture. So, when are you getting your painting straight?
November 23, 2008 at 17:14
Thank God,4 lil children nai?…
lol…but cumin 2 d pt.,really enlightening….very well written n even mo thought provokin….m gettin my painting straight ryt now!!!! :)
November 23, 2008 at 19:52
Oh, a story about observation, eh? I love it!
November 23, 2008 at 20:22
The perfect first story after a beautiful intro to the blog. It was important that you get your first entry right to set our (the readers of your ‘amazing blog’)expectations keyed up and await such life-changing moments of inspirations projected through this blog. This blog shows you are in a zone right now bro. Keep it going. I felt after seeing your pencil sketches something special in you and this blog has bowled me over. WOW!!!
November 24, 2008 at 01:07
Wow! This is simply an amazing post to begin this struggling yet impressive journey. :)
@Topic.
It is absolutely true that, we often under-estimate small yet important things that make our lives a mess, but I think, a lot of times we under-estimate them, because we don’t understand that those small things are having impact on our life indirectly, and that is why we often tend to look for direct loopholes(the questions we ask), and hence we under-estimate these “frames(habits).”
And I guess, identifying the small(indirect: that doesn’t have direct impact) loop holes is very important and therefore tough as well.
According to me, one of the toughest job for human beings to do is to identify their own mistakes, habits, frames, etc., and once people get a hang of, how to identify these loop-holes then I think, they are not too dumb to take them for granted. ;-)
P.S:- I wish, this frame(habit, skill of blogging) in your painting(life) fetch you some real answers and
ahievements. *ATB*(this ATB is a small puzzle for u solve. :P) :)
November 24, 2008 at 06:50
Definitely right there buddy! And painting your picture straight is always mostly about conquering your own demons. Little/simple/trivial is what they appear to be, but then as Naimath pointed out, it aint so easy, and rest assured it shall be a life long effort, but then the fact that you are at it will bring ‘positive impact rippling into the future’.
Good post :)
November 24, 2008 at 11:13
When i was going through the blog, i felt ohh damn i know this very well, but how?
Then i was supposed to remember that it was the one told by you itself :)and i must say that the children of today are much more noticeable than the grown ups of today..
And myy painting is already straight!! LOL.. On its way to get straight :)
November 24, 2008 at 11:25
Once we realise what we need to realise, things go right in the frame.. and “THIS” was a perfect picture to make things straight.. :-)
I thank your mind as it made an amazing observation at the right time.. ’cause just this incident could go as another “ignorant” thing as well.. but luckily it didnt. It enlightened you and therefore to us! :D
Won’t be long.. till each of us.. with our own efforts make our paintings straight!
Have a great day!!
November 24, 2008 at 13:07
Do you remember about the wise man—Isaac Newton— who was set to thinking out the law of falling bodies by seeing an apple fall to the ground? He was always curious about common things that everybody saw, but that no one else thought much about.
November 24, 2008 at 13:20
Your writing skill is way to good, mashaallah.
November 26, 2008 at 13:24
very well written n excellent writing skills good job
November 26, 2008 at 16:37
“For me, the painting represented life and its frame our habits, skills, knowledge, character etc.”
Beautiful analogy :)
Really well written!
Awesome, keep writing PLEASE!
November 27, 2008 at 08:33
Thank you for all of your support and appreciation! I am glad that there are others who completely agree with me and are willing to view things the way I do. It’s a pleasure to share these thoughts with you all - inspires me to think better, analyze more and churn out more such words. Please keep looking forward to my future posts, and keep reading. I’m sure this amazing journey will go a long way, not just for me, but for each and every one of my readers :)
November 27, 2008 at 11:25
Its always a pleasure to learn things.. and this journey with you, for all of us… would def be amazing! :)
have a great day!!
November 29, 2008 at 11:57
Yes you are right we tend to ignore so many small things in life, a fresh perspective and a nicely written post, keep it coming will follow the blog for sure :)
November 29, 2008 at 16:08
gr8….gud to learn things…..
November 29, 2008 at 18:34
Awesome. I will be checking as much as possible
November 29, 2008 at 21:11
interesting stuff..i like how you compared or rather saw the connection from a painting to see the bigger picture in life =)
December 9, 2008 at 18:10
i like the way u presented your thought.. and surely i have learned from it ..!! and also i like the way u gave an example of a child getting the painting straight ..
thers a famous sayin “A CHILD IS THE FATHER OF A MAN” and its true isnt it??
October 13, 2009 at 07:29
I think that before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. When you chose your paint, remember that many painting techniques use two shades of one color. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color for painting your room walls, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.
Regards, Nilda