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Role models

Retrospection leads to regrets and introspection, insight

Adopting an archetype transports us to a distant future. We nurture inferiority and entertain an ambition of becoming somebody at some point of time. A discontented self tends to remain begrudged and creates restlessness and ruthlessness. Paragons and averages do not exist in the real world. They are fictitious with projections and imaginations.

No one is an exemplar. Assuming role models negates the very principle of existence. Nature has no counterfeits. It limits our performance. It endorses encumbrance rather than providing impetus. We get enslaved by our own hankering and miss the joy of unique individuality. Imitation is futile in life. Churning out carbon copies is not an objective of creation.

Hero image

Models have become our role models. It is easy to replicate the exterior like long sideburns, loose shirts and tonsured heads. Our craving imputes `a larger than life' image to our heroes. Many of them happen to be tax evaders, law-breakers or rule violators. Niceties cover their nefarious nature.

We tend to be swayed by a single aspect in choosing the ideals. Diamonds and pebbles - both produce the same splash on dashing with water. Man is a function of innumerable variables and assigning superiority to a particular attribute may cause disappointments. Persons at a distance attract our attention and distract our concentration. We often miss the outstanding people around us.

There is no such phrase as `wrong role model' for all prototypes are wrong. Roles are not identical and cannot be related. One has to assume a role depending upon the compulsions.

Performance is decided by juxtaposition of circumstances. Situations are always unprecedented. However, precedence predominates in decision making. Hence, every error is repeated and every possibility is throttled.

All achievements are transient. The remark of Thomas Gray in his Elegy that "All the paths of glory lead but to grave" is not a pessimistic parody but an optimistic observation.

We do not remember, recapitulate and rejoice the achievers but the affectionate. As Charles Schultz observed, "Applause dies; awards tarnish; achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. The people who make a difference in our life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards. They are the ones that care."

Revelation

Pre-eminence can be admired and not the persons. Love can become a revelation. Service, dedication, sacrifice, warmth, hard work and all other admirable qualities can be learnt, assimilated and absorbed. Individuals do not matter. The worst of the universe has the best of a few remarkable qualities.

We have to be like decorticators. Inspiration could be infinitive. Inspiration and imitation as well as replication and reflection sound similar but are miles apart in their actual meaning. Every creature around us offers invaluable lessons.

Division of labour from bees, steadfastness from spiders, continuous effort from ants and perseverance from cranes are worth learning irrespective of their total mettle. Every metamorphosis is a mini evolution.

Standards are not available outside. Marble statue cannot be an icon for granite to work with. They vary in structure and texture rendering sculpting different for sculptors. Let us be our own mannequins and begin with the premise that we are still boulders. Some may be basalt and some shale, yet to be hewn and carved into beautiful statues.

We should become both chisel and sculptor to achieve this venture. Sculpture is got by eliminating the extra. Saving the essential and sacrificing the redundant is the essence of discovering art in grit.

Every unwanted portion is to be removed. Beauty descends by administering the process of distillation and deletion.

Retrospection leads to regrets and introspection, insight. Polishing our positive points without any urge to prove our calibre and competence to the world will make us seasoned and relevant. Our path is ever traffic free and any congestion is our concoction. An enlightened individual neither chooses a model nor prefers to be one. He is simply as he is, absolutely contented, blissful, serene and sane.

V. IRAI ANBU

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