Life

watch original V-Blog in Persian

In my culture we love to talk about people. And yes, the lines of backbiting and gossip are sometimes crossed. Persians love to know who's marrying whom and who's driving what car and "did you hear, so and so just bought a new house - I wonder where they get their money from". It's amusing on one level, dangerous on another. But the outcome of all this analysis is always comparison. People compare themselves to each other. And this is certainly trans-cultural. It doesn't matter who we are, we wonder why so and so seems to get all the breaks, and we're always struggling? So much so, that the entire purpose of our life becomes to chase what we think others have and we need. Isn't it so?

Well last night I threw a little impromptu party to welcome home a friend who had come back from a trip and wanted to share her experiences and some slides. Because it was so unplanned, I didn't have enough chairs and resources to ensure that everyone was comfortable. But it was alright, people were forgiving and came in and some sat on the couch, others on some chairs, yet others sat on cushions and an 'unlucky' bunch made themselves comfortable on the floor, leaning against the wall. Those who were on couches felt uncomfortable at times and got up to offer their seats to people. But nobody seemed to care. People declined the offers and remained on the floor happily, focusing on what my friend had to say.

And that's when it hit me. We seem to busy ourselves with peripherals so much that we often miss the point. If my guests had spent the evening fighting over the cushy seats rather than sacrificing their temporary comfort, they would have missed the whole point of the presentation. And that is life: we get so caught up in what is transient, that we miss the eternal. We might not all have couches we sit in, but this life is like "sands in an hourglass" to quote an intelligent source. :-) And we have to focus on what's substantial, so we don't miss the point of the show.