“Every person is a new door to a different world.”
Unless we have an exceptionally open mind, our perceptions would often influence our ability to accept people the way they are. Obviously when we get acquainted with a new person, the first impression we get, very often has a disproportionate bearing on how we interact with the person and the type of relationship we are likely to develop. While some people look very loud in their appearance and dress sense, others look too scholarly and reserved; others look dumb and pretty while a few others have a plain jane look but have an intellectual air around them. The permutations and combinations are countless and that is the reason we forge friendships with some and wonder how some people ever have friends.
Irrespective of whether we form strong bonds with people or not, an interaction with a new person always opens the door to our heart and mind wide, to a wide variety of influences be it in the terms of culture, language, profession, religion, experiences etc. In effect, our interactions open the doors to a different world than the one we are used to or comfortable with. The new scenery may not be necessarily appealing but it is also possible that we get to see things that we never imagined. The beauty of life in its myriad splendors is revealed to us, through the our interactions with new people.
Sometimes, behind the gregarious bubbly and lively personality we discover a very lonely, sad and bitter person who seeks to be understood but limits themselves to superficial relationships. Others who seem hardened and tough reveal a childlike innocence when we get to know them better. There could be others with a petite demur, calm in temperament, cool as a cucumber but deep inside they are scheming, crooked and cunning. There will me many who are warm, full of life and genuine and yet we may not be comfortable with them simply because we envy them. Anyone new whom we meet will be different; do we make the effort to try to open the door to them and explore the world they can lead us to?
Remember: Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down
Try these:
- The next time you go for a social event or party, make it a point to meet 3-5 new people (at least one of whom should be of the opposite sex) who you haven’t known before. The challenge is to know more about their family, hobby and dislikes. Also assess how you would rate the person on a friendship scale of 1 -10 with 10 being the person would be excellent to have as a friend.
- Check the profile of your friends. How many of them come from a different religious, cultural, language background? Do you have any single parent, divorcee, widow/ widower, amongst your friends. Do you have friends who have an age gap of over 7 years or more between you and them? Do you have friends who are in completely different professions than your own like fashion photographers, journalists, animal activists, research scientists, professional musicians, an undertaker etc. Do you think you can befriend someone with such a background in the next 3 months?
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
You are also invited to visit our Weekly Inspirational and Motivational Blog www.poweract.blogspot.com
