LET WHAT IS OUTSIDE OUR DOORS... BE















I loved what our Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray, said in his message, yesterday. In his composed tone, he advised the citizens of his state, Maharashtra – and, particularly of this mega city of Mumbai – to focus on what we could do, in a positive manner, from inside our doors. For, that’s within our control. What’s outside our doors was outside our control…


Yes, we all are concerned about the situation outside, today…  We all are anxious, worried and scared. Yes, we all are… and, it’s understandable. But, let’s be a little rational and ask: “Do we have control on things outside our doors? Can we really control them?”


If not – and, it is not – why do we spend so much time and energy focusing on such things? Are we not losing our own power apart from our sleep? Are we not ruining others’ sleep and diminishing their power as well?


Stephen covey illustrated this phenomenon through two circles. He named the inner circle as the circle of our influence (our power) and the outer circle as the circle of our concern… Just as Uddhav Thackeray described ‘What we could do from inside our doors and from outside our doors’. The more and more we focus on our inner circle, the more and more we gain our power…. We become proactive. On the other side, the more and more we focus on our outer circle, the more and more our power shrinks… We become reactive.


The famous Serenity Prayer comes to my mind:

“God, grant me the courage to change the things I can,
serenity to accept the things I cannot,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”


Self-hygiene and self-care are within our control. Being considerate, patient, less reactive to each other is within our control. Caring and sharing is within our control…Learning to take household responsibilities is within our control… Prayer is within our control… Reading and watching positive material is within our control… Blocking ourselves from the onslaught of social-media trash is within our control… Refraining from sharing and forwarding fake news is within our control… Being a little playful and upbeat is within our control… Learning a new skill is within our control… Pursuing our hobbies is within our control… Our physical fitness is within our control… Rest and sleep are within our control…


What else is within our control? Let’s ask God to grant us courage to do something about them…


The rest is outside our doors… So, let God – or His angels on earth - do something about them.



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Beto Franklin/Pixel

Video: Josh Gorban/Katherine Chris





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