It's about a pair of spectacles.
Let's start with boiling some water.
I had my first pair of spectacles when I was in the university. We never were addicted to phones when we were kids, as we did not have any. Yet, at latter part of my teenage years I got a computer at my house, and I played 18 hours straight staring at it. My eyesight became bad within months, and when I went to university, I used to sit in front row, so I could see the projections clearly. When I was in the bus stop, I was staring at the buses, trying hard to see them clearly before they come closer, as I could not see the destination boards that they displayed. And it came to a point, I haven't seen anything further than few meters clearly for a long time and I got my first spectacles. Error was not that bad, but doctor told me I am in for a surprise, as I have never used them before.
I can remember walking out from the Opticians wearing my new spectacles. I could see everything! from the birds in faraway trees, to the sand grains at the tip of my toes. Nothing was blurred anymore. And I walked in joy like a kid, found it difficult to step on, as the world seemed to be different. Have you ever seen someone try hearing aids, or spectacles for the first time? Or even walking after a long-term coma? If not, you will have to imagine. I am sure you have some similar experience.
What changed?
Let's add some vegetables, and spices to the boiling water.
I knew exactly nothing changed in the outside world. What changed was the projections which were created in my brain. Better clarity. We can say what changed was the information which I received about the world. And that is the starting point of our argument.
Who gives you spectacles?
Some salt to make it a little tasty.
Well, for a start it was my optician. But if we consider information, I will say many more. It started with my parents, Television, Teachers, Newspapers, Lecturers, politicians, friends, Neighbours, preachers, strangers, and even my own imagination. And from your birth up to the reading of this sentence, you were given information from everyone around you. Some are good, some are bad right? (We can agree on this judgement for now) What we do when we get this information? We contemplate on them; we judge them and either we discard or mark them important. We might take action or refuse to act. We might react aggressively, or cry sadly, or smile joyfully. Now, we will stop there and add some wisdom to our pot.
The man with the spectacles.
Wisdom in the pot.
I want you to imagine a man, who is wearing a pair of red color spectacles. These are the ones; this man was wearing since he was born. And he is arguing with everyone that the world is in fact red. And it seems he is right from his perspective. How can anyone teach him otherwise? I let the task in your hand. All we have to do is sneak into his room when he is sleeping and make him wear a blue color spectacle. And from the moment he wakes up, he starts to doubt his previous idea of the red world and now he is thinking the world is blue. And yet again you try. You try another day when he is sleeping this time you put him on green spectacles. And ah the nightmare! he is now in a green world. You try yellow, and yet again this stupid man tries to prove the world is yellow. Imagine you try different shades every day, and you use all the colors in the f*****g rainbow in a year. Yet he does not understand what is happening. Because he did not think about what is happening in the first place. And that there is the wisdom in your pot! That is the one thing that your parents and teachers and environment did not teach you. Because we are the f******g idiots in the first place not knowing we are wearing spectacles on our own, we were sleeping when the information just change our spectacles. Let's revisit the analogy, for those who did not understand it. It's simple math.
Explanation: That one thing your parents and teachers did not teach you.
The man with spectacles is you. The spectacles you already have is the previous information you received. And every day you get new spectacles from your parents, teachers, and everyone and everything around you. And with this new upgraded spectacle you start to look at the world tomorrow and say, well, the world is Pink! or Blue! or Black! From your birth to death, you live in a dream of a colorful world created by your own spectacles.
So, I will tell you a secret now. The true secret, that you are eager to hear, that will change your future forever.
Can you see the idiot in you move when I put it like that? Contemplate on it.
That is how I can sell you a pair of spectacles, which I call mindfulness. And that is truly colorless, ha ha ha! (Hope you are wise to understand the irony of this)
BTW your pot is ready, it' s time to have lunch.
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