I still remember a day I was in school. I had a headache because my house was being painted the previous day and I can’t tolerate the smell of paint.
It was before lunch break and the teacher asked us what is your ambition, who do you want to become in life. My friends had different choices, some said they wanted to join the Indian Army to fight, some said doctor, engineer, businessman, advocate, one guy said he wanted to become a JCB driver, and a friend of mine stood up and said he’d like to do a painter’s job, and after him someone said something else, but I really didn’t like my friend’s choice.
I knew that his father was a mason, and during the lunch break I approached him and said, “Bro, I know your father is struggling as a construction labourer, supporting you and your family but I didn’t like your choice of profession today. You are studying in a great institution, you have to think big, we have vast possibilities of professions, you have to come out from your controlled, restricted mindset, you should think of something other than becoming a painter.”
He paused for a while and replied, “Dude, I didn’t mean that kind of painting job, you know Da Vinci, Michelangelo, I want to become a painter like that, that’s what I meant.” He laughed at me and walked away.
I felt ashamed that day about how I had judged my friend. I knew his family background and somewhere in my subconscious I was convinced that he could only think about painting houses when he said he wanted to become a painter, when he was actually being disruptive and thinking of something much beyond that.
Life is literally full of possibilities and every human being has the potential to think and dream and become anything they choose. That experience taught me a lifetime’s lesson, being non-judgemental will open up greater possibilities, and today I am gratefully remembering the idea of being non-judgemental. #365daysofGratitude
P.S. My friend didn’t become a house painter or a painter but a sailor. And today he’s celebrating on a cruise ship, anchored somewhere in the Caribbean islands 🙂 🚢
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