The Way I See It

By Vishnupriya

Perspective is defined as a point of view or an attitude towards particular ideas. It is hard to convey my perspective of life as words are not enough to contain their essence. I suppose there are two ways to look at the perspective of life. My perspective of life as a whole in general and my life in specific.

Life, in general, takes various forms but mostly it speaks from a universal point of view with its groundworks set on pillars of science. A lot of key elements need to be taken into consideration here, like luck, fate, destiny, the usual question of ‘why’ that has been baffling human minds since the dawn of humanity. All these terms are subjective. Hence, it is significant to define the boundaries of each.

The word luck takes a completely different connotation in this context. Luck transforms into a play of numbers which can be defined as a function of probability and chance. In simple terms, to be lucky is to have probability in our favour.

Fate and destiny are both complicated. They would make the best dynamic duo. Fate is something that just happens regardless of the things that went right. It cannot be defined as a play of the universe as the universe simply exists and does not take interest in individuals. Destiny is just as complicated. It is how life progresses to result in an ultimately predestined goal.

The question ‘why exist?’ remains a mystery. The follow-up queries include ‘do we need a reason?’, ‘is there a purpose for our existence, ‘what is the meaning of all this?’. And I do not have the answer to any of it. I don’t know why or how the Earth was perfectly placed in the solar system. I don’t know how a singular cell organism evolved into the human beings we are now. Maybe it was an adaptive trait. I do know that humans have evolved drastically. The very magnitude of knowledge and intelligence prevailing on Earth is astounding. Not to mention the truths lurking in the dark to be found. The magnificence of discoveries, the thirst for knowledge, aspiration for greatness, adamant optimism, and enthusiasm for creativity are some of the values human beings hold which also happens to be the very reason for our evolution. But sometimes I do wonder if we are relevant in this universe. Given the plausibility of the existence of a higher civilization, would it make any difference if all the space closed in on us and we just ceased to exist? Would it at least create a ripple in the space-time continuum? The relevancy of our existence, our position in this universe, are all undiscovered matters. I suppose it is one way to look at the perspective of life.

Getting into the perspective of my life, when I reflect on it, I realise that there are a lot of ups and downs to it like anybody else. There were days I thought I was flying and other days, I didn’t even bother to save myself from drowning. Life as I know it is a series of catastrophes for me. It is comprised of innumerable moments of happiness, love, compassion, empathy, moral dilemmas, fear, and passion.

To me, life has never been about the grand things. It has always been about the sensation of being alive, something that gave me a purpose, a smile, a word of kindness, and moments of realisation. And one of them that fascinates me the most is the acknowledgment of truths set in plain sight when we are busy focusing on the happenings. One day, I was surrounded by classmates, just watching them have fun. They were laughing, cracking jokes, the usual rhythm, and it suddenly hits me that they are all so much more than just names and what I know about them. They are a person of their own. How could I miss something so obvious and yet so salient?

Love, compassion, and kindness are essential components of life. It takes a massive toll on us and shapes us into the person we are now. I honestly don’t know what love is and I think it would be unfair to confine love into words. But I am all too familiar with the feeling. A feeling so strong that I don’t think I could ever forget that. Just like how I would never forget the way I liked light reflect off their skin when we were lying in the glow of fairy lights of my room, and how willingly I drowned in the brown pools of their eyes and how the rhythmic contractions and expansion of their eyes calmed the storm inside me. They made me feel like an ice cream melting on the hottest day of summer.

When it comes down to a choice of actions, I always choose the kindest path. I’d choose kindness over and over again every single time because there is enough evil in this world and I do not wish to add on to it. It doesn’t matter what others do with my kindness. Maybe it came as a rainbow after a hurricane, maybe it was a helping hand to them or maybe just maybe they were taking advantage, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I chose kindness over any of the malicious acts which helps me become a better person.

I have learned that time and patience are very important. I now know that if I need a break and rest, I should rest instead of jumping from one thing to another hoping it would make everything fade away. I learned not to give up when it gets really hard. When it gets to a point I’m suffocating, I fight. I have to fight harder than I’ve ever fought before. And maybe the next moment or the one after that, before I know it, I’ll be breathing clear again.

Life cannot be thought of as linear. It is a complex point in an even more complex plane co-existing with multiple parameters and arguments at the same time. We don’t start a book or a song just to get to its end, we savour every word, every beat, and every rhythm and get to the end.

By Vishnupriya