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E-Pao! Essay - My Perception and I

My Perception and I

By: R.B. Thohe Pou *



It is only my perception that makes me to hate or love someone or something; infact no man or nothing is good or bad in this world – it simply is. It is my projection that I projected something good or bad. I may be born in a rich or poor family but my future life decide on my projection, perception, attitude, approach, concept, pre-concept, understanding, interest and desires. My parents, friends or environment cannot decide my present or future life. It is my perception that the world is a good place to dwell or miserable place to dwell. It is through my understanding and attitude that I can change my wrong projection and perception about someone or something. Do you know who you are or what you are? Are you the master of none or are you the master of everything? How do we approach a situation or perceive a thing or man? Our life is mold by our perception, attitude, approach, concept and pre-concept, understanding, interest and desires.

It is very important how I approach or project the people or to a situation. My positive or negative thoughts come from my projection, perception or pre-concept. There were two sons in a family. Their father drinks everyday and fight with all the family members. The elder son follows the footstep of his dad and drink everyday as he grows up. One day, someone asked him, "Why do you drink everyday"? My father was like that and how can I be different from him? The younger son never drinks and he was not like his brother or father. Someone asked him, "Why you never boozed like your elder brother and father"? He said, "I am not happy with my father who always drink and fought with all the family members; I don't want to be like him." It is his projection, understanding and perception on his dad that made him to change his life. He was convinced that if he would be like his dad, other people would dislike associating with him.

When we perceive something in our mind, it continues to linger in our mind till we develop a constructive or negative projection. Whatever we do - whether we do good or bad, our understanding, perception, projection or pre-concept etc decide what to do. We may be very poor but the situation or environment cannot make us richer. It is our only positive projection, attitude, perception and approach (PAPA) that will make us richer in our hearts. We may be from a rich family but our lives may be miserable like the poorest in the world with our wrong PAPA. Man's ends are unlimited and it cannot be content with our richness with our wrong projection, attitude, perception and understanding. Suppose you find a beautiful dress and you want to purchase it. But when you observed it and re-examined, nothing is special in that dress but only the latest fashion. The quality of the dress material is ordinary and not durable - then you think that this dress deceived your eyes and heart. Nobody has deceived you. Your mind projected – the dress is good and so you purchased it. One day a person may perceive a beautiful thing; another day the same person may perceive a thing very ugly. It is our projection, perception and understanding that the whole thing around us is beautiful or ugly.

The situation or environment is similar to all the people in this world. Our projection, attitude, perception, approach or pre-concept makes us sad or happy. Who is perfect in this world? Everybody encounter the problem – the rich or the poor man. The people from a developed country like, UK or US or from a third world country like India or Pakistan - they have the problem to be solved. Our right projection, perception, approach and attitude only can help to solve the problem or overcome a difficult situation. When people have right approach, attitude, projection and perception to the situation or environment, a difficult situation or environment cannot make a person's life ordinary or meaningless. Some time we may no be able to solve the problem immediately but our right attitude, approach, perception and projection can solve or remove the problem in our mind. Where is the problem lies? Can you see the problem or touch the problem? Many people thought that the problem is the biggest problem in their lives; they want to remove the problem by their hand or with something. But can you remove the problem by your hand, which you cannot be touched? Problem cannot be touched by hand but feel only in our heart. So something cannot be touched by hand cannot be removed by our hand. Many times problem lies only in your projection, perception, understanding, mind and pre-concept. Can we touch our perception, understanding and attitude? If not, we cannot remove the problem by our hand. Everywhere there is problem and we will encounter the problems. The problems or difficulties can be changed by our projection, perception, attitude and approach. It is easier to change our PAPA than changing or removing the problems. When we change our PAPA, the problem is automatically vanishes.

Our success in our works depends on our PAPA. It is not only the rich people who will be successful in this world. Anybody who has the right PAPA will be succeeding in life. It is the PAPA that makes a man's life different from others. There was a man selling the balloon on the roadside. A boy came and asked the man, "Will this black balloon fly very high like the red balloon?" Then the man told him, "It is not the red color balloon that can fly very high but the Neo gas which is inside the balloon." Likewise it is not the people from a good background or environment but the PAPA of a man makes successful in life. We may be from a royal family but without having the right PAPA, we cannot face the world and become a successful man. People who blame the situation or environment have wrong projection, attitude, perception and approach. If we are failed today, tomorrow we can be a successful man with our right PAPA. People with wrong PAPA will be always a failure. We are failed not because of the situation or environment but we have got the wrong projection, attitude, perception and approach. We cannot blame the situation and environment for our failure in life.

We may be optimistic about our future lives. But we will be pessimists when we do not change our wrong PAPA. We may be full of confidence and optimistic about our lives but we cannot face the failures and problems without the right PAPA. Every one encounters the problems and failure in life and once we face all the problems and failures, we will loss all our confidence and optimism without the right PAPA. The problems are created due to our wrong projection, attitude, perception and approach and the problems can be solved with our right PAPA. Our whole life is mold by our projection, attitude, perception and approach. It is impossible for a man to suicide when he/she changes the wrong PAPA to right PAPA.

We may be in a same or similar environment or situation but one day our life is beautiful and another day it becomes meaningless because we change our projection, attitude, perception and approach. It is not the situation, environment or problem that makes us our live ordinary or special. Our right PAPA is very crucial - with our wrong PAPA can make us defeat or paralytic. We may appreciate and inspired by someone, while other people may not like and uninspired; it is only our projection or perception on some one. The sunset looks beautiful to one person; and to another, sad. And to another it does not matter. In everybody's live, there is something special and beautiful that needs to be dug out. Many people may not like an ugly and poor guy but there is something beautiful in him and he can be very helpful to many. Your right and constructive PAPA on him will make lots of difference on him. A girl may be very beautiful and helpful according to your projection but to someone she may not be beautiful and helpful. It is because we have different projection, perception and approach on her.

For some people defeat is the greatest enemy and saddest thing and they may want to end their lives due to defeatism. But for the people with different projection, attitude, perception and approach may not be the greatest enemy. For a man with right PAPA – it is the best time to learn the causes of the defeat and accept the defeat. Osho-Rajnesh was a bit notorious when he was young and he loves to play and talk in the class. One day, his teacher told him to get out from the class and stand in the corridor (varender). His teacher made him to stand outside the class as a punishment but he loves to stand outside and watch the beautiful scene so it was not the punishment for him in his heart. Here the point is that it is our projection, attitude, perception and approach that a man thinks the punishment or problem very big or small or no problem and no punishment. A person who cannot accept the defeat cannot overcome the defeat.

The victorious people always accept the defeat with their right projection, attitude, perception and approach. But the people who do not want to accept the defeat will defeat themselves. The people, who cannot accept their mistakes, defeat, problem and failures with right PAPA cannot subdue and handle the situations. Accept all the people and everything around you as it is with your right approach, attitude, projection and perception and it will good as it is. To deal any kinds of situations, people, problems, defeat or success, everything is depend on our projection, attitude, perception and approach. Our right PAPA on man and everything around us will make our live different in a special way. It is our projection, attitude, perception and approach that will mold our live what we want to be.

We can use different perspectives but it is possible only when we put into practice in our real life. Some of the people use only the first perspective without taking into consideration the second and third perspectives. When we have only the first perspective, everything becomes good or bad depending on our first perspective; we may also snub the important aspects too but when we take the second and third perspective, the situation changes. When we want to change a situation, problem or anything, we should never conclude from that first perception or perspective. Many times our first perception or perspective can be derived from our preconception, misconception, misunderstanding etc; one needs to practice using different perceptions or perspectives on different situations or man. You can definitely live a better life when you have right PAPA and start using different perceptions or perspectives in dealing the things or man around you. Put into practice today and I wish you to live a better life.


Author's Note: This article is extracted from my upcoming book, "For a Better Living" and dedicated to all my readers. This was written in 2004 and experimented in the last 4 years and the above PAPA concept is very helpful in dealing with different situations and people.

* R.B. Thohe Pou contributes regularly to e-pao.net.
The writer can be contacted at thohepou(at)rediffmail(dot)com. This article was webcasted on September 12th, 2008


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