Liba Hopeson
BTC, Pfutsero
One day, Sadhu Sundar Singh was treading in a desert, and, all of a sudden, he saw a mirage and thought that it was water in a pond. However, when he went near, it was not actually water in the pond but a mirage which appeared to be water from a distance. If he didn’t go near, he might, with utter astonishment, tell others that he saw water in a pond. So, there is a gain in going near the area where he saw a mirage.
Once, a man was not informed about an emergency meeting, but those who attended the meeting thought that he was informed. Consequently, they were furious with him, and sadly, he was terribly condemned and ousted from the group. So, there is a big loss for ousting him as a result of not knowing the actuality.
One day, a High School teacher went to a shop and saw one of his students sitting in the shop. The teacher smelt alcohol. Thereafter, he suspected that his student whom he saw drank alcohol. But, it was actually not the student who was sitting; it was his friend who has hidden after seeing the teacher. Then it was made known to other teachers too. But the student denied that it was him. Yet, the teacher who saw him in the shop couldn’t believe him for he didn’t see others, only him. So he warned the student sternly. Indeed, he was controlled by his suspicion and it misled him.
Of late, I come to know that there are many small and big problems in our life because we fail to know the realities and facts. I am actually inspired by my one of my lecturers to think more on this matter and write about it. As he used to say, we have many pre-suppositions, suppositions, assumptions and suspicions and think and say certain things, but it ultimately leads us wrong. Without knowing the realities and facts, we often guess, suppose and conclude wrongly in certain matters.
Many a times, I have pre-supposed that some people were feeling bad on me by simply looking at their appearance or I just surmised it, but finally I discovered that they don’t have any problem with me. And I’m sure you also have had the same experience. Many problems are just in my mind. Many problems are just in your mind. Yes, it’s in our mind. I remember how a lady was worried thinking that a guy was not happy with her. She told me, “these days, one guy hardly talks to me – I don’t know why he is not happy with me”. I just told her, he might not be unhappy with you; it might be just your thoughts”. So, similar to her experience, I believe, many have undergone it.
Today, there are many rumors, disputes, fights and other problems we spread the message wrongly. It’s quite funny that in my Village, some people were rumored to be married, actually though they were not. It was quite interesting, for majority of the people talked about it without knowing the reality – only those who spread the news knew it.
Similarly, there is other created-news, like a man in disguise on the stage, which is spread like real happenings. One big problem we have is – if a person says, ‘may be’ or ‘I heard’, the second person will go and tell others, ‘it seems’ and the third person will say, ‘it happened’. As I observe the life situation in my college, I discovered that, we have many presuppositions, assumptions, and suspicions which directly or indirectly generate minor and major problems.
In the college, very often, we are tempted to guess and conclude certain things, and consequently go wrong many a times. We have College Election for certain posts, but many people are not elected, even for years. Do you think they are not capable or potential? Absolutely not! As I interacted with some friends who do not hold any major posts, surprisingly, I learn that they are tremendously used in their Church and native places.
Should we argue that the nature and system of works in the Church and College is quite different, so we cannot make a comparison? Of course, it may be different in many ways, but I strongly believe, it will not make a big difference in taking the responsibility even in the College. Then, what went wrong and is going wrong with us? As I continued to think on this matter, I come to realize that we fail to know the real-inside (potentialities or abilities) of those persons and hence lack trust on them.
However, some persons are not much utilized in their Church, but they are elevated in the College. Truly, many a times, we claim to know a person so well, but if we study more critically, we’ll find that we have misjudged him/her. I have experience it. For instance, many have claimed to know me so well, but sadly, they have misjudged me in many ways. And I also asserted that I know some people very well, but I realized that I have wrongly judged them.
I believe you have also experienced the same. After staying with people for some years, we claim to know them very well, but I tell you, it takes time to know a person. For some people, we need more time. We cannot easily know a person well within few years, though many assert to know. I am intensely convinced with this notion because many who have claimed to know me still do not know the real me and I still do not know many of my friends, including some close ones.
Some students may pretend to be very good in front of the teachers, and hence they are trusted. But they may behave very differently with their friends. Likewise, some behave well in front of the Church leaders, but at home they are trouble-makers. So, we have to be careful in trusting as well as suspecting others. Indeed, we are immensely influenced very often by the popular term ‘psychology’ and often mislead us. Some words and phrase such as, ‘perhaps’, ‘I heard’, ‘I think’ ‘I guess’, ‘it seems’ ‘I am told’, ‘I assume’, ‘I am informed’ and others frequently drag us to the wrong directions. So, now, I am interested in searching the realities and facts, though I cannot get everything right and clear.
At times we see an innocent person mouthing obscenities – I tell you that is not the real him or her. At times we see a gentle and soft-spoken man getting wild – that is not the real him. At times we see a reliable person’s behaving in a very outlandish way – that is not the real him/her. Sometime we see a very good person deeply embroiled in unhealthy talks and intense criticisms – that is not the real him. At times you see a God fearing man behaving very strangely or speaking angrily – I tell that is not the real him/her. I urge you to search more to know the realities of life, people and happenings. I mean to say that, without knowing the fact and reality, we often judge people wrongly, happenings and conclude certain things.
So, I would urge everyone to learn to search the fact and reality before judging and concluding anything. If we have the taste searching the reality, I believe, we’ll have a much better life. In order to know the facts and realities, we should not just conclude or judge something by only seeing the outer appearance or by simply guessing, but we have to break the cover and see what is inside. Like Sadhu Sundar Singh, who thought wrongly about the mirage but come to know the real thing by going near, we have to take time to know the realities.
Let us not be very quick to judge or conclude something, but search for facts and realities! If we do this, I believe, we’ll have a much better life! Many a times, ‘what we see is not what we see’, and ‘what we think is not what we think’. Sometime, you may say, “yes that’s it”, but after you study more, you will say, “Oho, It’s not”!
