WHO WROTE IT ON OUR FOREHEADS?

 



“In adults, maturity is the fruit of dependability;

in a child, it is the seed.”

Richard E. Eyre

 

In one of Dawn Club’s popular Workshops, the facilitator, Swami Brahmavidanada Saraswati, (Shri. Ram Mohanji) used to hold a roleplay. He would ask some five young boys and girls to volunteer for this roleplay. The volunteers were supposed to discuss an overnight excursion among themselves and come to a conclusion… Where to go, how to go, what to take, how much contribution to collect etc.

Here, in the roleplay, all five volunteers were strangers. But, they were expected to discuss as though they would do in real life, with their real friends and associates.

Then would come the twist to this tale… The facilitator would pull out from his bag white bands, one after one, and tie it on the forehead of each volunteer… On that band would be written the ‘label’, the ‘script’: “I am a Leader’… ‘I am a Fool’… ‘I am a Joker’… ‘I am Dependable’… ‘I am Cautious. If there were more volunteers, there would be more forehead bands with the label - ‘ I am that’ and ‘I am this’… Every volunteer could read what was written on others’ foreheads, but not on his/her own… Neither the volunteer nor the audience were supposed to reveal to any volunteer what was written on his/her forehead… But, there was this strict instruction for the volunteers: they had to perceive and treat each other exactly how it’s written on the foreheads… The leader, like a leader, the joker like a joker, the dependable one like a dependable one, and the fool, like a fool…

The outcome would be a crazy sight to behold!




The take away was plain and simple: We all go about wearing these self-written labels on our foreheads, letting the world treat each one of us exactly how it’s written – like leaders or dependable persons or cautious persons or, yes, like jokers or fools…

And, who labels us so?

Unlike in a roleplay, where the facilitator writes the script, in real life the script is written by each one of us on our own foreheads! We go around wearing these bands… revealing who we are and how we should be treated… And, thus, whether we like it or not, we shall be treated exactly how we have let the world to!




The seeds of dependability and leadership are sown when we are little children. Ditto about the seeds of being casual, cautious, foolish or stupid. Overtime, these seeds become our adamant scripts… They permanently reside on our foreheads, and become out destinies…

Yes, ‘It’s written’…

The question is: by whom?

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: pixabay

 

Video: Simon Sinek/Mark Yu

 

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