Think a Minute

“It’s not what you look at that matter. It’s what you see.”

Ionce knew a woman who was beautiful. She saw the world in terms of attraction and attention. Everything from job interviews to getting discounts at restaurants to dealing with teachers and peers.

If someone was rude to her it was because they were intimidated by her beauty or their own lack of beauty. If someone was kind to her it was because they admired her beauty and wanted access to it. She measured herself through her beau- ty and attractiveness. And naturally she measured the world and people in it by their beauty and attractiveness.

There was a guy who thought he was a loser. He was socially awkward and nobody liked him. He saw the world as a popularity contest, a contest that he was perpetually losing. Everything from how much he earned at work, to the poor service he got at restaurants, to the people who didn’t laugh at his jokes.

If someone was rude to him it was because they realized how much cooler they were than him. If someone was kind to him it was because they saw how much of a loser he was and took pity on him. Or perhaps they were just bigger losers than he was. He measured himself through his social status. And naturally he measured the world and the people in it through social status.

Have you ever realized this nature? That how you judge others may be a reflection of who you are?

The commonplace nature of Sri Lankan’s would be to marvel at tangible possessions which are valuable. Now a BMW or an Audi in a higher price range would be more than 10M, mostly because of the high taxes that is. However traveling in such a car would be a luxury and a sign of dignity for Sri Lankans?

What do we gather by this judgment about individuals living in this country?

The yardstick we measure other people is simply how we measure ourselves.

Are you interested in sharing your opinion? Email your opinion to devuni@ gmail.com

Devuni Goonewardene