Originality
26th June 1999
Ramaswamy, Arun @IAC.Honeywell.com
Dear Inn mates,
I just want to share some of my thoughts on Originality.
What exactly do we mean by being original. We are just an offshoot of the
past and a bridge to the future. All the knowledge and wisdom that we
possess are but, a fragment of the previous generation. So there is no
originality in that. As far as social behavior and etiquette go, we are
groomed by our parents, educational institutions, society and the general
culture of the particular time frame of which we are a part. No originality
there. Our living style, habits, food & drink are a direct result of our
immediate parents, which further we develop on as we become adults and go
into the society, and partake of the various tastes in Food Clothing and
shelter that the surrounding culture seems to offer. No originality here
either.
Then where is it? Where do I show my self? My element? The stuff that is the
real me. Is originality, but a set of selective choices of an individual? Am
I known just by what I like to eat, drink, wear, behave and say, laugh
about? All of those are a borrowed set as far as I am concerned. I am just a
selective mirror, so to speak, of the society. Where is me is all this. Very
luxurious question indeed, considering the fact that people do not have the
time to think or the space to calmly breathe about such matters. But there
is a small area worth pondering about. Just pause to consider this.
The only place in my entire world where I am myself is my imagination. I can
take nothing from the sumtotal of my experiences, and yet, create an entire
universe of my own; but only in my imagination. In imagination, I am me.
Nothing can touch me there. But I am not lonely either. I am with myself.
Happy, content and enjoying my own endless creations. Effortlessly and
timelessly, I can become anything, experience all and go everywhere. It is a
supreme experience. Most importantly, I do not have to go anywhere, or do
anything to be myself. Imagination is with me, 24 hours a day, 365 days of
the year, till I die.
That , I think, is the reason a genius like Einstein was quoted saying"
Imagination is more powerful than intelligence". I guess we should spend
more time with our own imagination. Might not exactly pay off our bills, but
in this mad rush of a society that we live in, it certainly will put us in
touch with ourselves.
Truly,
R. Arun
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