What we see as real is only defined by our belief structure. Our version of what is real is only our perception of it; not what is so. “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are” (Talmud). Our belief structure determines our perception which then ultimately determines how we respond. How we perceive our world influences our attitude, which in turn effects what we attract. If we perceive a world of abundance, our actions and attitude attract abundance.
Sometimes we hear people talking whether someone’s glass is half full or half empty. It is really a metaphor for how someone views his/her life or the world around them. If someone is negative or pessimistic, people might regard them as seeing their glass half empty. When people view their glass as half empty, they are looking at what they don’t have instead of what they do. If someone is positive and optimistic, people would say they see their glass as being half full. Half of their glass may be empty, but they choose to look at it as half full. They are seeing what they have instead of what they don’t.
Different people may perceive the same environment differently based on what particular aspects of the situation they choose to selectively absorb, how they organize this information and the manner in which they interpret it to obtain a grasp of the situation. Well perception is good to the extent it is helpful but it must not be something that is reinforced and strict and leading to ill consequences. We must not jump to conclusions and be unethical.
Our perceptions may or may not be true. Other than being pessimist or optimist, there is an additional category who acts rationally. Perception can be wrong in a day to day life, treating good as bad and bad as good. Perceptions can be wrong about the public sector businesses and officials and labeling them casual, lazy and dull. Perceptions can be wrong regarding private businesses treating their profits as their sole consideration. Perceptions can also be wrong with the students not to find their teachers friendly and supportive and vice versa. I have sharp memories of a Professor in the University who was very awkward in his first lectures and received all bad treatment and resistance initially by students. But the said teacher challenging the students’ perception earned command and respect and won hearts of his students.
Man was living peacefully with tolerance, love, compassion and respect for all religions and cultures. But over the period of time man has been deeply hit by the wrong and easy perceptions leading to his fall as a human. Most of these false perceptions have been developed just for nothing and without any logic. Being far off from my homeland in other part of India for over a decade now, I have to justify my cause to be outside to my friends and close relatives. I have to bear their tune when they craft their own theories with the wrong perception regarding the outside world and the dwellers there. I was on the same plane and treating outside world differently, earlier in my life, till the moments of truth took place. There are reasons why we need to be good humans first and decide rationally.
There are strong reasons why I have regards and love for my friends outside of my religion, caste, region etc. It is good to remember my good past and rich experiences in life. I was very fortunate to have a Hindu friend in college who was more of a sister. She was an extreme care taker and always prayed for my lovely future. I went outside valley after my graduation for coaching and found shelter in a great Sikh family in Jammu. The rich and royal family always treated me like the son of family. Next during my Internship days in delhi, I stayed there as paying guest and had encounter with some of the lovely Hindu guys from many states of the country. I could remember how the support and liveliness of the boys made life worth living at the end of the day’s tired work. Coming to Gwalior a decade back and meeting some of my best teachers, guides, and friends is something that has happened great in my life. To my surprise most of them are from Hindu society with rich values and the bond existing with them is unbreakable.
Our perception may or may not be true and things in actual may be highly different. Let’s think positively.
God has now gifted me with lovely brothers and sisters from Hindu society who are doing extremely well in different professions but their human values are unparallel. Moreover, it will be unjustified not to share my recent experiences and thankfulness to the good humans who were supportive in high need. One of my close family member more recently was hospitalized due to some critical illness. But if we have good friends life becomes easy and free from worries. Some of my colleagues and good friends were always ready for support. I felt clueless when there was need of blood but good humans came to my rescue.
With just a single post on my social networking groups, a large number of friends were ready to give blood. Surprisingly a guy from Zambia who is in India and an army major were also ready for a noble cause. There are reasons to mention special thanks to my Kashmiri brethren here in a different State. Kashmiris prove a step ahead and are known to be lovely humans. Some good friends as well as strange boys from Kashmir pursuing research career here in Gwalior have set examples, what all it needs to be good humans? From arranging medicines, paying bills on my behalf, offering blood and spending sleepless nights, they were ready at a time of grief. Salute to the people with gifted values and a brave heart. Not to ignoring the fact, I had perceptions regarding social networking as virtual platform only with no real value but my perception was wrong. Besides I had fewer connections with Kashmiri brethren here, but their recent help and selfless efforts make my point weak and perceptions fallible. Moreover, I have valid points to justify to my friends in Kashmir that there is a big difference between what is real and what is mostly perceived wrong regarding other Indian States. Similarly, I have submissions for people in other Indian States about their bad perceptions regarding the valley and the peace loving people there. All it needs to be logical without being biased and developing good perceptions.
There are pros and cons of perception. It is the most immediate way of knowing. It is a way of knowing through firsthand knowledge, and hence is easier to believe. But perception may not be a true representation of the outside world. It can also be limited. Perception is a synthetic process where different physiological and psychological processes are involved. For example, the accuracy of sense organs, clarity of sensations, mental set of an individual, etc. Otherwise our perception may go wrong. “If we understand the world as it appears to us, it will be a big booming- buzzing confusion” (William James, American psychologist). Hence, we do not see the things as they appear, but we see them as we want, i.e. more meaningfully. Many times the prejudices in the individual, time of perception, unfavourable background, lack of clarity of stimulus, confusion, conflict in mind and such other factors are responsible for errors in perception. When we are caught up in our own egos and forget to differentiate between our own perception and the factual reality of things, all sorts of bad consequences can arise. We blame others for our own reactions, and we judge others as not befitting our own standards. To challenge bad perceptions, we must keep our eyes and ears open for moments when other people express their opinions as if they are fact. Every time we like or dislike something, we must take note and ask ourselves, “What is the reality here and how do I perceive it?” With a little time, we will become more aware of our own preferences and their impact. We must try to express reality and perception as two different things to get better outcomes.
Do we perceive life and outside world as good or worse? When we perceive life and outside world as good, we have a much greater degree of happiness than someone who perceives it as bad. Those who perceives life and outside world as worse can provide a long list of reasons justifying their perception. However, the person with a good perception will provide just as many reasons for his or her position. The objective is that we must control our perception. We must start looking at life and the world as one of happiness and abundance. Especially when we encounter greater difficulties, it will be our positive perception that gets us through. It is our will power and our cognitive behavior that decides whether we want to move ahead cheerfully or get stuck in a dreary state in life. As humans and superior creations we must challenge our own perceptions and try to be nice, smile to everyone; be cheerful and spread merry all around.
(The author an Assistant Professor at ITM University Gwalior writes on issues of greater public conern exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. His views are personal )