by Navid Zaidi
Once there was a disciple of a Greek philosopher who was commanded by his master for three years to give money to everyone who insulted him. After three years, the disciple was asked to go to Athens to learn wisdom. A sage met him at the gate and insulted him. The disciple laughed at it. The sage asked him why he laughed. The disciple replied that for three years he had to pay money for being insulted and now he was getting it for free. The sage said, ‘ Enter the city. It’s all yours.’
(From Dalai Lama’s book: The Art of Happiness)
So it wasn’t hardship alone that opened the city of wisdom to the disciple. The prime factor that allowed him to deal with a difficult situation was his capacity to shift perspective, to view his situation from a different vantage point.
The ability to shift perspective can be one of the most powerful and effective tools we have to help us cope with life’s daily problems. It helps us develop a calmness of mind. Every event, every phenomenon has different aspects. We know the famous story of a train driver who lost a foot in an accident and remarked that now he’d only have to polish one shoe! In other words, shifting perspective, looking at the brighter side.
A situation that we may initially perceive as totally negative may have positive aspects to it.
Generally speaking, once we are already in a difficult situation it isn’t possible to change our attitude simply by adopting a particular thought once or twice. Rather it’s through a process of learning, training and getting used to new viewpoints that enables us to deal with the difficulty.
The capacity to view one’s problems from different angles is nurtured by a supple quality of mind. Every one of us should develop this suppleness of mind. It comes about through our efforts to stretch our perspective and deliberately try new viewpoints.
A supple, flexible mind helps us address our problems from a variety of perspectives. It can help us reconcile the external changes going on around us and integrate all of our internal conflicts and inconsistencies.
Without a flexible mind our outlook becomes narrow and brittle and our relationship to the world becomes characterized by fear.
Emphasizing the common ground we share with others, rather than the differences, results in a feeling of connection with all human beings. This leads to compassion and altruism.