Dislike

As a child, I loved most of what my mother cooked. One of the dislikes was the idli. I would immediately gulp down a couple of the rice cakes, since my mother had a stern rule that we had to eat the first offering of all food, even if we disliked it. I would ensure that the unpleasant experience was over at the earliest.

However, this strategy would boomerang at homes of other people. Seeing me consume the idlis in quick time, they would think I loved them and they would drop more idlis in my plate. Hence, I had to change my approach. I would put small pieces of the idli in my mouth and chew slowly to stretch the time. Interestingly, this made me indulge in the taste and eventually I developed a liking for the idli.

My dislike for the idlis was due to wrong perceptions rather than real experience of taste. In fact, our likes as well as dislikes may be inferences born of perceptions or even interpretation of real experiences. People who love chicken or vegetarian Manchurian may enjoy it without really getting the taste of what’s inside.

To truly soak in the experience, we must soak in it. We must give it time to familiarise with facets that unravel only with deeper application of our senses. We need to consider whether our dislikes are mere inferences from erroneous perceptions made in a hurry. We have to find ways to escape hurried perceptions and experience the same with an open mind.

Stop playing hostage to hurried opinion…
Dislikes may be mere errors of perception!

~ Pravin Sabnis