I watched a Netflix Movie – Minnal Murali, recently. It has got excellent reviews and is a regional Indian film like non-Bollywood. This film is from Kerela – a state known for churning out good quality lifelike movies. However, this movie is a SuperHero film, one of the firsts for Indian movies.
The movie has a straightforward plot – straight from a storytelling framework. There is a trigger that creates a protagonist and antagonist. Their characters mature as the story evolve, and it all ends happily with a hint about a sequel.
It made me wonder that sometimes simple things are life are the best. A cup of chai on a rainy day. Your dog or kid’s smile. A beautiful flower or tree on the side of a road. The sun is shining on a cloudy day or any day. A nice long relaxing breath. The feel of warmth on a cold day. A clean desk. The list is endless. Most of the time, we have complicated our lives so much that we overlook simple things even though everything in life is really simple at the end of the day. We are all too busy with our thoughts to stop and smell the roses literally.
Eckhart Tolle says that regardless of whatever activity we may be doing at the end of the day, we are either sitting, standing or lying down horizontally. That’s a very accurate and simple description of our lives. But, what makes it complex is the stories we spin in those three positions, which take us into a fantasy world.
Our lives are genuinely peaceful and joyful. As Byron Katie states, if you haven’t experienced this, you are arguing with reality. What does arguing with reality mean?
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west – most people will accept this as a fact. Now, let’s say we have a person who keeps saying that he wants the sun to rise from the west as his house faces east. He tells his neighbours about it, tells anybody who will listen to him that the sun should rise in the west. He cannot even bring himself to smile even for a second throughout the day because the sun does not rise in the west. He walks around with the victim of the sun not rising in the west. He even dies, blaming everyone for the sun rising in the west.
I am sure some minds are wondering what a useless thought – Sun should rise in the west. It is not true, and one cannot argue with ‘what is happening’ or ‘reality as it is’, correct? Now, what if I tell you that each of us clashes with reality most of our lives.
Don’t believe me – read the following statements and answer in Yes or No if you are arguing with what is happening or reality.
People should be loving
People should respect me
My spouse should listen to me
My kids should do as I tell them to do
My employees should be high performers
I should be healthy
People should be better drivers
Corporates should respect the environment
We should have more free time
The list is endless. Reality does not care about what you want or justice or righteousness. Reality just is – it is what is happening. You want people to be better drivers, but they are not. How can you argue with what is? Isn’t it akin to wishing for the sun to rise in the west? If we all learnt to recognise reality and not get caught up in our imagined and should be realities, life will be effortless.
In what ways are you wishing for the sun to rise from the west and arguing with reality?