Keen to learn more about inclusive workplaces? Want to be inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community? Download our special report with Randstad India on making Inclusion without Exception happen
Aimlessly browsing through news, articles on the internet is very common. But do we realise how our perspectives change with this behaviour?
Nowadays, browsing through news, articles on the internet aimlessly is very common. But do we realise how our perspectives change with this behaviour?
I had recently been browsing mindlessly to pass my time. Browsing is an act that gives your mind the illusion of doing something while making you believe that you are doing nothing. But we often forget to acknowledge the fact that our minds absorb whatever we expose them to.
And if we are not careful enough, that browsing mind can create perspectives. They may actually not be in tune with who you want to do or be!
I scrolled through innumerable pages where the website showcased how celebrities looked in their twenties and what they look like in their old age. While some celebrities seemed to age like fine wine, there were others who were unrecognizable.
I was shocked looking at some people I adored. I definitely loved the younger version of Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant much more than their older version. But if attraction or liking changes with a person’s appearance what is the basis of a relationship I wondered?
This led me to browse articles that circled around Botox, plastic surgery and reverse ageing processes. I was shocked to see that people in their 20s now went for Botox procedures so that they would not have wrinkles in their ripe years. I wondered then what if people in magazines actually showed themselves without the layers of make-up and Photoshop edits. Would the remaining population have a more natural idea about beauty?
I mean, we do not look at a green leaf thinking it capable of more beauty than the red and yellow autumn leaves that fall off the branches every year. Autumn is beautiful because of the ageing leaves that breathe colors into the season every year. Would this perception have changed if maybe magazines aimed to make people believe that only green leaves and saplings had the right to be called beautiful or even valuable?
Going back to the before and after pictures I wondered, what remains after a person’s whole appearance changes? As days passed I wondered if happiness is even possible after 25 for a human individual.
I sat wondering, where my world is going with such extreme perspectives creating havoc. Then I came across a video of Sir Richard Branson bouncing away in space laughing like a toddler completing the Virgin Galactic Space Mission. He had envisaged it seventeen years ago. He beamed like a child who has just started exploring the world and was so amazed at what he was seeing.
The happiness that exuded from his face was so intense. I wished I too could have a piece of that euphoria.
I realized then, that not only happiness, but ecstasy is possible when one is seventy or above. Sir Richard Branson has had that dream of going to space for seventeen years. And has led himself to live out his dream out of sheer hard work, an unwavering belief in the impossible and an unending lust for life. I was so inspired by him!
Does age really matter and is it even related to the amount of happiness one is capable of feeling?
I really do not think so. Especially after looking at the bouncing Richard Branson at age of seventy with a sense of achievement, purpose and bliss beaming through his whole being. I realized that everything boils down to just perspective in life. It is important that we take care of which filter of perspective we put our minds through because that is what would shape us.
So, while you mindlessly browse through news, articles or information make sure to filter out what your mind is absorbing.
The mind is everything, what you think, you become – Gautama Buddha
Image courtesy – Paul Skorupskas on Unsplash
A Social Media Content Writer by profession. A writer by heart. A genuine foodie. Simple by nature. Love to read, create paintings and cook. Have impossible dreams. At the moment, engaged in making those dreams read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
If you want to get back to work after a break, here’s the ultimate guide to return to work programs in India from tech, finance or health sectors - for women just like you!
Last week, I was having a conversation with a friend related to personal financial planning and she shared how she had had fleeting thoughts about joining work but she was apprehensive to take the plunge. She was unaware of return to work programs available in India.
She had taken a 3-year long career break due to child care and the disconnect from the job arena that she spoke about is something several women in the same situation will relate to.
More often than not, women take a break from their careers to devote time to their kids because we still do not have a strong eco-system in place that can support new mothers, even though things are gradually changing on this front.
No law in the country recognises enabling the rapist to walk free after marrying the survivor. However, in reality, it is something that families and communities often push for.
In the same week where the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 11 May, saw a split decision on the constitutionality of the marital rape exception, another equally reactionary decision was handed by a divisional bench of the Supreme Court when they set aside the conviction and sentence of a man who had repeatedly raped his 14 year old niece
The facts of the case are simple. The accused, K Dhandapani, enticed his 14 year old niece with the promise of marriage and raped her several times. The family came to know of the offence when the girl became pregnant, and a case was lodged against him under the Protection of Child from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. After trying his case, in 2018, the Sessions Court found him guilty on all three counts, and convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. The accused appealed to the Madras High Court which upheld the conviction and the sentence in 2019.
The girl gave birth in 2017, before the case came up in court. Despite the pending case against him, he continued to have sexual relations with the girl, and she gave birth to her second child at the age of 17.