This is not about the power of
people that we have conventionally known or have been conditioned with. That
kind of power of people is associated with democracy, mobocracy, movements,
power-of-one and so on. But there is this another soft power, a subtle one, a
not-so-obvious one, an under-the-surface one which is equally powerful. Over
the past weekend people from a myriad of background, from a variety of age
groups, from a wide range of beliefs, from diverse training converged and in a
span of three days both received and exuded that power.
As we move ahead in the ladder of
life, whose angle with the wall is not a subject of discussion here, one
usually becomes an island. Your job, your family, your few friends, your
colleagues, your boss, your newspaper-walla, your iron-walla fit in your scheme
of things and remain there for long time. Though there are a minority who shake
that system off their shoulders and consciously make effort to change (not
girlfriend or wife of course). Thus the island becomes comfortable and we get
complacent.
Islands come with their inherent
problems. In this case under the lens, the problem is with not meeting enough
new people if your profession doesn’t entail so. Now prima facie there could be
actually no problem with it, for if people are equivalent to problems many a
times, new people would mean new problems. Thus the comfort of the cocoon. But
for horizons to widen, for perspectives to be understood, for relations to be
forged, for associations to be made, one has to meaningfully connect to people.
Yes there will be those egoists
whom you will despise, yes there will be many with whom you will never agree,
yes there will be few whom you will not be able to stand, but then there will
be those wonderful people who will fill you with joy, then there will be those
who will add meaning to your context, then there will be few with whom you will
forge a forever bond. Disembarking a journey for the fear of the former doesn’t
do justice to the fruitfulness of the latter. And in the process people get
empowered.
There is positivity in everyone.
Sometimes negativity masks it but essentially there is positivity. It is on
that goodness that despite growing mistrust, growing hate, growing dislike,
bonds between people survive test of time. Draw on that goodness of people.
Believe in the goodness. In that goodness is power. For if one seeks to learn
something from another based on materialistic needs, such opportunism will be
replete with negativity and will not take someone further. Soft power is in the
former, in the goodness.
Our deep conditioning prevents us
from trusting people. We label them few seconds into seeing them for the first
time. The baggage we carry are huge. It is important to get rid of them to be
without conflict. Large source of our conflicts are not materialistic goods but
people, and the very people we like, we love. To be not judgmental when meeting
new people is important. If one can achieve that then you will see wonderful
people adding meaning to your life, for the power of people and power in people
is enormous.
