Wednesday, March 20, 2013

What is your view?

From the time we were very young, we observed things around us and started forming views. Some things we liked and they made us happy. Some other things we disliked and we tried to avoid them.

In this age of IT revolution, we are overloaded with information of various kinds. At every moment, we are exposed to news and developments from around the world. Thanks to our fertile minds, we end up forming a view on each of these events.

If there are 10 people in a room and a topic comes up for discussion, we will end up having at least half a dozen views. There is merit in variety & diversity and these differing views help us take a well thought through decision. The real problem comes up when some people cling obstinately to their views and refuse to change it. Such a stand (many a times without logic) results in stalemate or sub-optimal decisions.

So, should one have a view or not? And, should one be flexible enough to change it when presented with a better logic? These are two questions to ponder upon.

My own take on this is as follows. We should form a view on subjects which we are well aware of. We should have the honesty and the humility to confess that we do not know enough of a topic to form a view. And we should have an open mind to let others influence us with a better reasoning. Many a times, we realise later that our views are biased based on our own experiences & expectations.

By refusing the temptation of forming a view, we are actually freeing up our mind space. When we form views, we become attached to them as well as agitated. By not forming views, we are going into a meditative state of merely observing things as facts. When we don't have a view, we are becoming non-judgemental about things. We are reaching a state of Nirvana. Isn't that great?

What is your view?