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Be true, be you
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SOUND OFF! Anoop Bharadwaj wonders why some people just can’t be themselves. He scoffs at the pretentious lot that acts as if they appreciate high-art and the high-life
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“It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is.” The legendary quote by Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch theologian of the 15th century, pretty much conveys what it intends to.
We are living in the jet-set age apparently and, more increasingly than ever, men and women are ruled by the mind more than the heart. Which is fine as far as profession and career go. To close business deals or to succeed in an extremely dynamic work environment, a fair amount of tact and craft is essential, agreeably.
But it’s quite remarkable that people are making their lives more complicated than necessary, by trying to be someone they aren’t, in every aspect of life. We could take the instance of people talking about tastes in the arts; though it might sound slightly inconsequential at first go. Haven’t we come across scores of men who profess to know much about music other than pop, and feign interest in esoteric stuff as such? More often than not, they are driven more by the desire to be in the company of a certain class of individuals who enjoy a good bit of popularity by the dint of their acquired tastes, than a true love towards an art form or any such thing.
It’s really a waste of valuable time, trying to appreciate something that doesn’t strike a chord with us naturally. It’s fine if someone doesn’t understand Beethoven, can’t digest Tom Clancy, or can’t sit through “Othello” on stage. He could still trip on Rahman’s tunes, devour a BusinessWeek or catch up on every Bond flick that hits the screens. What’s desirable perhaps is the spirit of enquiry and adventure; discerning the stuff he comes upon is a matter left to his own devices.
Again, if we were to look at the disposition of certain folks to act pretentiously, we wouldn’t be deprived of amusement. Some people try to give an impression that they court no nonsense. This is acceptable, as long as it’s just nonsense they want to stay from. We all do that, so to say! But in the process, if they appear a tad too rigid in all they do, aren’t they simply missing out on so much of fun? There are some who enjoy a joke privately, but would prefer to maintain a straight face in public. Then there’s the instance of people putting their altruism on display. Well, if they feel they’ve got to do something for the welfare of others, it’s fine if they’ve done it. Someone who doesn’t do charity is by no means a lesser mortal, is he?
We could all do with so much of natural identity, that our minds are free to pursue interests dearer to us. Don’t we already have enough on our plates? Is it really fun to shock someone after a long time, when he discovers that we are someone different from what he’d believed us to be all the while? That would only make people in general lose faith in fellow men, and at the same time give them ideas to play Jekyll and Hyde!
It really is not a bad idea to stay cool and true to identity, stop being stuck up all the time, and give time a chance.
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