Through the dirty glasses

 The actual day and date of the event is quite blurry to me. I tried to recollect it, but it seemed to have vanished in the little black hole I have in my brain/mind, but the realization I had after that event was quite profound.

It was just like any other day; I returned from the office. As usual, I was greeted by my wonderful family and my very adorable nephew.  After I refreshed myself, I sat down to have black tea with them.

 As a child growing up in a middle-class family or was it a lower-class family, we could not afford milk powder. The ones we have were also reserved for the guests. So, we resorted to drinking black tea (water, tea leaf, and sugar). As a child, I despised it, and whenever I got the opportunity to have milk tea, I cherished every sip of it. But as time went by, my palate adapted to it, and later it became a source of familiar refreshment. Now as an adult, I can afford any tea I want but I still choose the comforting clarity of black tea at home.

Ok, now back to when we were having tea together.  The air in the house felt quite different than usual. It was almost foggy. I inquired mother if she had lit incense in the choesham or if something was burnt earlier. She shook her head, saying nothing was burnt and that the air was clear only, to which other family members agreed. I was quite confused, wondering what was happening to me. After some time, I realized that I had my glasses on, and I quickly removed them to clean. When I put it back, the air did look very fine and indeed clearer.

The event was a very simple one, yet the realization struck me to the core. Sometimes, the world, a person, or a situation, is not the ultimate truth. It is merely a reflection of how we see it. Very often, we look through our dirty glasses and assume that the fault lies with the view.  We rush to judge or assume, draw conclusions on incomplete knowledge, personal history, or an unexamined bias. Perhaps the real work isn't trying to change what we're looking at but to pause and clean the lens through which we are seeing it. 

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