I had a friend who would always talk about his mother’s greatness. After the untimely death of his father, she had gone through severe hardships to ensure his education. He kept talking of his dream to give his mother a better home and a better life. His love for his mother was obvious every time he spoke of her!
Once I happened to speak with my friend’s mother, in his absence. I decided to make her feel good by telling about her son’s respect and love for her. While speaking I was stunned to see the disbelief on her face. When prodded, she confided that her son had lied to me. He actually despised her!
It was a strange state to be in, for I knew both had spoken the truth to me!!!
In my interactions, I follow this story with a poser, ‘if both are speaking the truth, whose certainty matters?’ Eventually, after exploring all possibilities the reality is unravelled: my friend was telling the truth about his love for his mother but as it was not reflected in his actions, she was unaware of it. In fact, his mother found hate and spite in his behaviour and hence she was right to say that her son did not love her.
Now replace mother with any other relationship or team or even motherland. Is our love just in genuine intention or reflected in committed and consistent action that confirms our emotion. So often, so many of us mean well... but without aligned actions, such emotion is meaningless. In fact, for some it is a disguise to avoid actual action by just talking without walking the talk.
Love is sterile as an internal emotion
Ensure that it results in visible action!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
Once I happened to speak with my friend’s mother, in his absence. I decided to make her feel good by telling about her son’s respect and love for her. While speaking I was stunned to see the disbelief on her face. When prodded, she confided that her son had lied to me. He actually despised her!
It was a strange state to be in, for I knew both had spoken the truth to me!!!
In my interactions, I follow this story with a poser, ‘if both are speaking the truth, whose certainty matters?’ Eventually, after exploring all possibilities the reality is unravelled: my friend was telling the truth about his love for his mother but as it was not reflected in his actions, she was unaware of it. In fact, his mother found hate and spite in his behaviour and hence she was right to say that her son did not love her.
Now replace mother with any other relationship or team or even motherland. Is our love just in genuine intention or reflected in committed and consistent action that confirms our emotion. So often, so many of us mean well... but without aligned actions, such emotion is meaningless. In fact, for some it is a disguise to avoid actual action by just talking without walking the talk.
Love is sterile as an internal emotion
Ensure that it results in visible action!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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