Love All

The other day, I was wondering about the paradoxical nature of human beings when it comes to being courteous and friendly towards some but high handed with others. I have yet been unable to find the causes for the same but I guess it has to do with our upbringing which is laced with bias and discrimination.

We are always conscious of our material status, apart from religious, dietary, physical and educational aspects. Someone who is not as generously endowed in these faculties as we are, we mentally classify them as not worthy of our attention, friendship or company. We have set certain standards of interaction for ourselves. It is very hard for us to get along with people from various strata of society and with those who have different dispositions. Though we make a pretense of doing so but we fail to convince ourselves, much less the others.

It is not that we are always consciously doing this. But it is nigh onto impossible for us to be completely unbiased, prejudice is intrinsic to human nature. Although it is acceptable in lesser degrees, but when it prevents us from getting out of our mental shells and knowing others or encourages us to be friendly with only those who match our standards, it becomes detrimental to our own progress and indirectly has adverse effects on the very societal patterns which guide our behavior. It boomerangs, sooner or later.

The way we are open to grasp all forms of information available, why can't we be open to interact with all kinds of people who come into our lives? It is not that we have to spend our entire lives with everyone, we can at least spend some memorable moments with them and act without prejudice. Why do we always end up judging others? It is natural for us to form opinions but why let it affect our behavior towards others.

If we observe others, we get to learn a lot from them but being judgmental is not proper. Why can't we simply nod and smile at our colleagues, at people passing by on the sidewalks or standing in the shops and so on. I personally do not find it very difficult to do so but I admit to feeling embarrassed when others fail to respond. I have noticed this streak in majority of people.

I might complain and express disappointment every time I experience such behavior but at the end of the day, I can say with total faith that I love people, friendly or not!