Do You Worry Too Much About What Others Think?

 

We have heard the story of many people, who hide themselves, hide their true identity, the sides of their personality and character that they find unfitting with the society and culture they are living in.This practice is deeply filled with the fear of rejection, fear of criticism and alienation.

I met a girl today ,who started to speak to me after she noticed my headscarf, and that was the reason she intended to speak to me,as she shared she had started wearing the headscarf with emphasis on the word recently again, after she took it off when she left Afghanistan, the words that got my attention were ,that she was scared to be alienated, to stand out amongst people who are different from her ,with the fear of being judged,  but now that she made a decision to begin wearing it again, she will never change it ,yet the lack of  confidence was apparent in her tone ,sadly the uneasiness and confusion was absolutely evident.

Rumi said this eloquently “I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think” . Have we ever heard birds complaining about other birds, they’re all creating a  symphony of their own , diversity is part of the creation, though in the present times we are taking this word to the dangerous extents , where we are dragging the humanity to a path of vulgarity and selfishness,  but staying with in the confines of sensibility and keeping an eye on the bigger impact  and not just an individual seeking pleasure by jumping from the cliff and expecting it to become a norm,but the impact that has lasting effects on coming generations loaded with positivity .

Identity is a huge topic , as humans beings are always searching for their ownselves , finding a new thing each day about their own creation .Many of us can look back and witness our own transformation over the years , from our thoughts and ideas to the smallest thing like what we eat and how we eat .Although at some point it’s a huge struggle to get those  transformations accepted .But one must keep in mind that you cannot please everyone, so be yourself ,having said that the second most thing of paramount importance is that the collective impact your ideas and practices has on others mustn’t be put behind selfishly.

Rumi the wise said “When you do things from the soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. But when action comes from another section, the feeling disappears.” , never cease to be yourself , stand for what you believe in,  hold your grounds , as holding on to faith and practising it with confidence is not for the feeble hearts ,don’t let anyone hold you , or you’ll be depriving your soul from the most vital ingredient of life called contentment and happiness.