Change - Inside Out!

Dr Sumedha Kushwaha *

For the weak hearted and the strong minds;

For those who are living in fear or those who are conquering life;

For those who think they have been cheated in life and also for those who think they have outsmarted someone this time;

For the ones who are struggling and ones who are seeing rainbows all across the sky;

For everyone who feels that the pressure is mounting that you just want to die;

These are passing phases and mere sides of a coin;

For you and I both know that failure is a lie and we are all bound to shine.

I wrote this poem thinking, obstacles and victories are a mirage in this journey of life, it is at the end of the day nothing but perspective. There were days in our student life, when we failed in exams- some students would cry but others would laugh their lungs out, thinking all this as a joke!

We all have a way to deal with life, and that’s our paradigm. This is a set of conditioned ways of thinking that have been formed by our parents, society, friend circle, education, work culture, childhood experiences, adulthood lessons and what not. It is our unconscious behaviour which does not require thinking.

Over the years, I realized that people blame external circumstances, situations and find all faults in how things could go wrong because of something or someone else. They behave in a pattern which reiterates their belief in the fact that what they are thinking is true. This is unconscious. But people who are wise, understand that this external environment is a mere reflection of your internal self.

The moment we recognize our physical reality is due to our own conditioned ways of behaviour, and we try to change ourselves, the outer change is not only inevitable but also phenomenal.This is all that’s required.

When I used to read the quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world”,it seemed like an unachievable, far-fetched dream. While reading the Buddhist texts, there was mention that our outer world is a mirror of our inner state of being, I thought this is too spiritual.

But, it was after examining the life of myself and many others around- that I deeply suggest that looking inside is what can change your thought process primarily.

However, changing your own self is the most difficult to do because it demands your conscious attention on a pattern that has been on auto-pilot for years. And this is the reason, we have a habit of fighting mental battles for reasons which are completely unknown, we make excuses to escape life for things completely uncalled for and this continues for some people until they are old and fragile.

This is the reason, people feel suicidal, they are on anti-anxiety pills, they smoke or drink too much, or they can’t sleep. The moment we have a realization that we have to change ourselves, that very moment we start a fight which is eternal, internal and is bound to bring ephemeral results.

Change is hard, it takes a toll on your way of thinking and being, it's uncomfortable, makes you feel dreadful and lets your mind go into an unknown territory which has an unrecognizable pattern. And it is easy to give up! But if you pass that bridge, there is bright light shining on the other side.