"SOME PEOPLE FEEL THE RAIN; OTHERS JUST GET WET"














 Pic.: Sherry Haridas
 
“Some people feel the rain; others just get wet.”


- Bob Marley


Why don’t we open up easily before others?


Opening up before another person means exposing our vulnerabilities… and, that’s something very, very scary!


But, then, unless we trust another person and open up, expose our vulnerability, we really can not feel the closeness… we really can not build a rock-steady relationship with another human.


Our unpleasant experience comes on the way of our readiness to open up, become vulnerable… The fear of being perceived weak, fear of being attacked, coming out hurt, fear of being misunderstood, controlled, manipulated and even destroyed and so on…


So, even if our hearts prompt us to open up, show our vulnerabilities to the other person, the mind overpowers us… doubt and fear bring about lack of trust, and, consequently, we remain in our shells… Closed…


Imagine, if I give the other person the genuine feeling that I am non-critical, non judgmental and non-threatening towards him/her… I don’t cut him off, don’t show my impatience and bias, don’t ridicule, don’t disrespect… and show loads of acceptance and empathy… Yes, imagine, if I show to the other person this kind of openness…!


When I show trust and open up, the chances are, always, high that the other person trusts me… It reduces the guessing mind-game… It, invariably, dissolves doubt, fear and distrust…


So, as my favorite singer Bob Marley said, “Vulnerability is the only way… “


Yes, the only way to love and feel loved…


The only way to trust and feel trusted…


The only way to grow stronger in our relationships…


Yes, there is no other way… No other way of becoming genuine human beings in this world… Even if we, often, conclude that it is a man-eat-man world…


It is the only way to grow in love in this world!


As I conclude this Post, I would like to find a new meaning in Bob Marley’s famous statement:


“Some people feel the rain; others just get wet.”


How can I ‘feel’ the rain unless my heart opens up?


“One good thing about music,” Marley had also said, “ when it hits you, you feel no pain.”


Yes, let the music of our hearts hit us… It is divine music!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Beena Hebbar said…
Full of meaning Gerry, keep inspiring. Beena Hebbar
February 25, 2014 at 1:58 PM
Ranjeet Singh said…
When we become vulnerable, we become not weak but strong...
- Ranjeeet Singh
February 25, 2014 at 3:06 PM
Pravin D'Sa said…
Bob Marley is my fav too........... Pravin D'Sa
February 25, 2014 at 3:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...