Everything around us has at the least three dimensions. Yet quite often we see only two dimensions. Or sometimes only one!!
My grandson of four years is convinced that the best Christmas gift for his play home teacher is a toy car, for in his words ... Ajji i know Ms D likes playing with toy cars. She plays with us all the time!
Well, forty year olds are no different.
This happened a few months ago in Delhi. A gentleman escorted me to an office. We chose to travel by cycle-rickshaw. After we got dropped the gentleman paid the man ten rupees. The rickshaw puller asked him for five rupees more as we were two passengers with a heavy bag. The gentleman's response- Why are you asking for so much? You want to build a house or what!! makaan banana hai kya?? - implying that a rickshaw puller had to be just that ... A poor man with no ambitions. The rickshaw puller remained for my friend... Just two dimensions.
We interact with doctors, teachers, bank officials, salesmen, colleagues... Our interaction with them is for a single purpose. To be treated, or to be taught, or for comercial needs. When as a result of some break in conversation we are forced to see them as three dimensional, as people with their own hopes and fears, we suddenly sit back and take notice.
Or we reject this sudden imposition of the third dimension, and react illogically, like my friend.
It takes concerted effort to pull ourself out of stereotyped thinking, and stop 'slotting people'.
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Very inspiring post Ms. Ratna. Thank you very much for sharing the link and it is certainly time for one to come out of stereotype thinking.
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