Thoughts and Reality
Shahid Shahnawaz
The writer is poet and journalist.
Ever since life was formed, we have developed emotions and feelings that make us smile, cry, feel pain and think. Since the birth of the first man to the present day, there has been a flurry of emotions. We think, therefore we exist. This is how the universe works. What we think becomes part of our life.
Researchers and scholars have concluded that the importance of thought in human thought is far greater than the reality. This may seem surprising but the truth is that man lives in two worlds. One is the real world around us. What you see, what happened, how did it happen and why did it happen? And the other world reside inside your imagination. How you see what happened and how much you value it?
This is what the whole world lives on. A man may take the extreme step like committing suicide but sometimes he stands firm as rock even though the whole house burn down. This is the true quality of a man to rise up whenever we reach a low point and face the hardships of life.
Some people get emotional at even the minute things while others laugh off even big sufferings in life. It is the lesson learned from life experiences, advice of elders and our religious guidance that makes us strong. The greatest strength of such people is not money, their house, relatives or any political or economic status but their own ideas and mental capabilities.
If you see child lost in his thoughts, you would encourage him to open his eyes and see the truth. You can cover your face in the sand like an ostrich but the truth will not change. For example, if you have an exam tomorrow and you are not preparing, then you will definitely fail. The adult wants the child to see the reality or else it could affect his upbringing, education, and his future.
The underlying question is why we chose our ideas and imagination over reality. There have been numerous instances when reality has achieved dreams and revolutionized ideas. The same ideas that were only in our minds tuned into reality and revolutionized the world.
It seems necessary to give an example. What happened before the creation of Pakistan? The Muslims of the subcontinent realized they were slaves of the British and should be free but decades passed and this dream never came true. Allama Iqbal gave a new direction with the two-nation ideology and his inspirational poems. This was forwarded by Quaid-e-Azam who said that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations. But what was the reality? If it was different from this idea, it would never be achieved. Keeping this in mind, he inculcated an idea to create a state where Muslims could practice their religion freely.
It was a belief that was born out of years of hard work and constant struggle turned it into reality. If the Muslims had only considered the reality, Pakistan could never have been created because the truth was that the British had been ruling over them. The Muslims had one idea and only one dream, but the willingness and determination was so strong that it was becoming a reality.
The reality is what you see and has happened. There is no way out without acknowledging it. An idea is our thinking and intentions. We can only move forward by putting the facts in front of us. If your own ideas are not given importance, then the facts also become meaningless. If you also want to move forward in life, then do some religious work, build an institution or work to achieve your dreams. You can turn the truth in your favour to achieve your dreams.
