Ram Das was a Harvard psychologist and a follower of Neem Karoli Baba, who brought the concept of spirituality to the Western world.He weighed in on the idea that we have lost track of the idea of patience, and that we desire everything to turn out in a certain manner, just as we like it, and because life is not always how we plan it to be, it causes frustration and irritation.His quote speaks to us about the very concept of expectation vs reality, even in the present times, where our largely busy lives are surrounded by the concept of fulfilling everything at the availability of a click, which has made it habitual to expect everything to go just as planned.
Quote of the day
As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can’t see how it is
Ram Dass
What does the quote mean?
Ram Dass says that when we are attached to how life should look, we stop seeing life as it actually is. Instead of meeting reality, we meet our preferences, fears, and wishes.And it all comes down to perception. We often think we are reacting to a situation, but in reality we are reacting to the gap between reality and our idea of reality. For example, if a job, relationship, or personal goal does not match our expectations, we may feel hurt or angry. But when we ponder upon it, we realise that much of that pain does not come from what actually happened, but from our resistance to it.Ram Dass means to say that our real understanding begins when we stop forcing life to fit our mental picture.
Acceptance allows for calm and composure
When people learn to accept reality before trying to change it, they often become calmer and wiser. Acceptance does not mean, just giving tick marks to every other thing, but it means facing the truth clearly. From that pov, better decisions can be mad and can help in conflict, grief, stress, and daily disappointment.So, we should just let life be what it is before deciding what it should be. That pause can reduce the disappointment and create space for clarity.
