Think out of box

A moneylender offered to forgo a farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter. The cunning money-lender made it look like a fair deal. He told them that he would put a black and a white pebble into an empty bag. If the girl picked the black pebble, she would have to marry him and if she picked the white pebble she need not marry him.

The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. It seemed like an impossible situation for the young girl. She could not expose him lest he back off from the deal which offered a chance to escape the debt.

She purposefully fumbled while drawing out a pebble and let it fall and be lost on the pebble-strewn path. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘But if you look at the one left in the bag, you will know which pebble I picked.’ Since the money-lender could not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

This story shows the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma could not have been solved with traditional logical thinking. Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think differently. To be better at handling difficult situations, we need to think out of the box.

The term originates from an analogy that draws a person’s thought in comparison to a box and how anything outside seems far-fetched and unachievable. Thinking outside the box helps discover answers where none seem to exist. We need to break the barriers of the box of routine thinking.

Limited choices we see may not all that be
Think out of the box, set the solutions free!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Non-judgment

A farmer’s old horse ran off into the hills. When, his neighbours sympathised with him over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Maybe!’ A week later the horse returned with an imposing wild horse from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Maybe!’

The farmer's son fell off and broke his leg while attempting to tame the wild horse. Everyone thought this to be bad luck. But the farmer maintained the same reaction, 'Maybe!’ A week later the army marched into the village and forcefully enlisted every able-bodied youth. However they let off the farmer's son due to his broken leg.

The farmer in the Zen story is practicing non-judgment. He displays tolerance for ambiguity. He understands that you can't judge any event as an ‘end’. Our life doesn't play out like a predictable script. There aren't definite breaks that separate one moment from another, and there isn't a seamless conclusion.

It’s the nature of the mind to judge. Sometimes, these judgments are helpful as they can lead to understand situation. But when left unbridled, the judging mind is taxing and controlling. It takes significant energy to evaluate every experience we encounter. There’s always something to be done about wherever you are.

Non-judgment means letting go of reflex judgments that arise in our mind with the experience we encounter. Keeping off the judging mind, even for a short while, is a refreshing weight off of our shoulders. Interestingly it opens our perspective to true mindful presence.

Don’t exult early… don’t immediately lament

Open the mind full-on, opt for non-judgment!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Tughlaq

Playwright – actor, Girish Karnad who passed away today, made a distinct impact on Indian theatre through his Kannada plays and his English translations of plays written by him as well as other playwrights. These included Tughlaq - a play written by him at the age of 26.

Tughlaq was a ruler with innovative ideas and a grand vision, but his reign eventually was a failure. He sought a unified large country but his rule degenerated into anarchy. He was a ruthless ruler and did not really trust anyone.

The play highlights the importance of credibility and authenticity for a leader. Two shrewd citizens identify and misuse the loopholes in every law so that they can profit. They end up contributing to the downfall of the best initiatives of Tughlaq.

A well-intentioned initiative can be undone if it is on pompous ground. Such a situation arises of not considering possible repercussions, lack of proper communication due to self-centredness and a trust deficit in the team that will implement the decision.

Every worthy idea needs to be considered for all possibilities of risk as well as potential. Clear communication is needed at the ideation, decision as well as implementation stage. Most important is real trust in all the stakeholders at various levels. Otherwise, the best of leaders can turn to be a Tughlaq!

Karnad’s Tughlaq is not just about history

It exposes flaws in contemporary authority!

~ Pravin K Sabnis

Bicycling

Pedro loved moving around on a bicycle. His friends would seek to discourage him by listing out the disadvantages of bicycling. But for every detriment, Pedro had a counter argument of a greater benefit.

If bicycles are condemned as slow, Pedro would point out cycles easily escape traffic jams. If detractors argued that they were physically tiring to ride, Pedro would explain that they make for a healthy lifestyle. Pedro had many arguments for the simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation.

However, the larger argument for bicycling is the influence it has on the rider. In the fast paced world, it slows you down. It makes you conscious of the environment and community. It helps explore inaccessible places by travelling across narrow paths.

The bicycle promotes mutual understanding and respect and facilitates social inclusion and a culture of peace. All these are found only in one other activity – walking! Between them, we have wonderful choices to move without polluting the path.

Cycles are great way to move around

sans impurity of air, space or sound

As a choice it is only second to walking

let’s sustain our world through bicycling!

~ Pravin K Sabnis