July 10, 2009

To Err Is Human...

I am not perfect. Far from it, I have more failings than your average guy. Yet - and I have said this in many of my earlier posts - I hope to get rid of these failings someday,and get as close to being perfect as I can. I think being perfect is achievable, and everyone should aim for it.

The biggest obstacle in achieving this comes from the society itself. The society wants us to be good, but when anyone starts becoming good, the society begins to get threatened by that person, and thus they begin to thwart his or her attempts in getting better. And when faced with the opposition of the society itself, most of us give up our attempts to become unique, and fall in line with what is generally accepted.

To take an example, let us consider the oft-quoted, and widely accepted, idiom: "To err is human, to forgive divine". I am sure all of us have used this phrase at one time or another.

I completely agree with the statement. But, I also think that this statement has a hidden meaning too, which stops us from improving ourselves.

When we make a mistake, we usually realise it. When we realise it, we get angry with ourselves for making the mistake. We are not happy that we made the mistake, and perhaps we would have been determined not to make that mistake ever again, but then we think, "To err is human...", and that is the end of all our troubles. For, aren't we human? If we are then making the mistake was just a normal thing, that was bound to happen. Wasn't it?

Similarly, we all know that forgiving someone is one of the hardest thing to do. I have still not forgiven a guy who I had a fight with in school, almost fifteen years ago. I am sure all of us have someone that we have not, or cannot, forgive. I am sure we try, but then we think,"To forgive is divine...". And who are we to try and claim to be divine.

What I have said above is merely an example of how the society has come to accept, and propagate, mediocrity. Instead of helping us trying to become the best we can, it makes us believe that we are good as we are, with all our weaknesses and faults. Now, I am not saying that there is an ideal, or a perfect being, that we all should try to follow or become like. All I am saying that we should be comfortable with ourselves, and our faults, but we should not get too comfortable and we should constantly strive to improve ourselves. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

What do you think?

1 comment:

Whatever said...

I think it can be much easier for me to say "I forgive..." then it is for me to actually let go of the anger and really forgive.

Related Posts with Thumbnails