Everyday meeting new and different people from all over the world is the most rewarding and interesting thing for me. While meeting different people, I come across new experiences, understanding, different perspectives, and unique perceptions. Some complains about something, which is very silly to some other people. Some appreciate something immensely, while others think that is silly. Some react to a situation to a great extent and become happy or sad, while others even do not notice that. Some are sensitive, some are emotional, some are hyper, some are numb, some are careless, some are fearless, and most importantly everyone is unique and nearly impossible to predict.

I am not a behavioral scientist who can study when and why individuals engage in specific behaviors examining the impact of factors such as conscious thoughts, motivation, social influences, contextual effects, and habits. Nor a psychologist who can help people learn to cope with stressful situations, overcome addictions, manage their chronic illnesses, and tests and assessments that can help diagnose a condition or talk more about the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. My expertise and knowledge have never crossed either of these specialists’ paths. But gracefully I can claim that I am a good listener as well as an observer. People come to me and talk both sense and non-sense and I carefully listen to them. If I have something to give, I give. If I have nothing to give, at least I listen to them and try to fit myself in their shoes to understand what they are going through, which is an impossible thing to try. But I try hoping that someday I will master the art of listening and understanding people.

In all these failed attempts, one thing very evidently, I notice in people that nearly everyone of us reach to a conclusion without understanding the context. Not sure why! But people do love to put a full-stop with whatever understanding they have (even without any understanding) blended with highest level of exaggerated imagination they can imagine. Off course, there are a good number of people around, who walks the path less traveled and do not carry any prejudice. Certainly, the number of such people is less, but they do exist.

But mostly those who reach to a conclusion and (re)act are more in number than those who usually follow the rule of Stop-Look-Go. Sadly, for most of the peoples’ grievances, unwellness, sadness, disputes, and many other disputing/ conflicting consequences the reason(s) are from within. Maybe for deducing some conclusion without understanding the context, maybe for reacting without foreseeing the consequences, maybe for thinking something which has no relevance with what happened, maybe for a perceived failure, which is not at all a failure, maybe for failing to apprehend/ understand a situation, or maybe for overthinking. Evidently, all these situations/ outcomes are the result of being short-sighted, lack of emotional intelligence, and lack of patience.

Unfortunately, the most wondering thing is that people do suffer for their own failure of dealing/ facing a situation diligently and this happens mostly for drawing the conclusion too early. It’s understandable that at the start of the tunnel it’s going to be dark but certainly there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Well, the tunnel can be long, and not everyone is willing to walk that distance or maybe does not have the capacity.

Once someone reaches to a conclusion and embraces sadness, unfortunately starts transcending sadness because it’s contagious. Not only sadness, but both happiness and sadness are contagious. As such, we should always wait for a while, stop wherever we are, look around and try to understand the context, and decide our response, or let things go. Certainly, letting things go is probably the best virtue you can have to be happy. With that having the patience and capacity of understanding the context would make the best combination to be happy and continue living as the happiest one on earth.

At the end, I would humbly request all to not to judge anyone/ anything too quickly and to not to reach a conclusion too early. A momentary pause in reacting can be invaluable in protecting one’s wellbeing and happiness. Let’s try to understand the context and let things go if there’s possibility that it might be a reason for your sadness or for a situation beyond your control. Let’s try to understand the context and offer your hand to those who needs help. In every situation let’s STOP, LOOK AROUND, and DO whatever needed to be done. If what you do, does not add any value, do not do that. Sometime not doing anything is the best thing you can do.