Desires, Perception and How to Put Them to Action - Essay Example

 Topic: (Autobiographical essay) life experience Instructions: Write an autobiographical essay about a significant event or person in your life. Choose the event or person with your readers in mind: it should be an event or person you feel comfortable presenting to others, and one that will lead readers to reflect on their own lives or on the differences between their personal experiences and your own. Present your experience dramatically and vividly so that readers can imagine what it was like for you. Through a careful choice of words and details, you can convey the meaning and importance—the autobiographical significance—of this event or person in your life. List as many events and people from your own life as you can think of. Complete the draft by getting involved in remembering the event or person. Picture the event or person as clearly as you can in your mind. As you write, don't worry about word choices or grammar. Focus primarily on the images and sounds and tastes and smells and ideas in your mind, recording whatever words you can think of at the moment that communicate those images and sounds and tastes and ideas. Keep part of your mind on your goals, outline, and pre-selected details, but keep your mind mostly open to your memories. When you get involved in your memories, as if you were back there right now, the reader will also get involved in your memories through the reading. Your memory is a powerful instrument. Concentrating deeply on your memories is the best way to get your mind to write autobiography. Autobiography “Desire is key to action, Perception is key to desire, And Learning is key to perception” Observing these lines everyday in my eleventh standard classroom, I often wondered aloud: Is whatever written here is true? If this statement is followed up, will I really get what I really desire? From where does each attribute described here come? What is the real essence of these lines? And time and again I would just wonder aloud and then forget about it, thus falling back to the ruts and crevices of daily life. I never ever seriously gave a thought to these lines. For me it was just a quote dangling from the ceiling. I couldn’t perceive the depth and strength of the quote then. I know now. This was the last lesson I had from my granny. However, before you start wondering about me and my whereabouts, let me introduce myself to you. I am Rose. A twenty-eight year old – petite, lean female with attractive body and beautiful facial features. The most striking feature of my personality is my smile. There are rare moments where anybody would find me not smiling. Because of my never ending, charming and genuine smile my friends named me ‘La Allegro’ – meaning ‘a cheerful person’. It’s a gift from my grand mom. So let me introduce to you the most persuasive significant other of my life, who has shaped my life: my grand mom - Pearl. The person who has undeniable impression on my personality is that of my Grandma Pearl. Simply stating she was Gem of a person. Although no more with us today in this physical world, her presence is still palpable. Just like any ocean or desert or mountain have its elemental force. She had a petite frame, sharp features, lean body, and short white hair; always perfectly clothed, full of humor and a pleasant manner. She was a style icon for all the others at home and outdoors. Everyone (including her daughter-in-laws! ) was jealous of her exotic taste and manner she carried with her. She was unique. I haven’t met anybody who matches with her style, manner, compassion and wisdom. She was a unique combination of all these traits. The most significant trait in her was her ability to change with time. She saw three generations growing up in our huge family; and yet the youngest ones too adored her for compatibility with them. She could alter herself to be child-like while playing or conversing with a child; and she could instantly transform herself offering pieces of wisdom from her immeasurable reserve, if circumstances demanded so. That was her magic. She was a real ‘pearl’ who shines incandescently. I have learnt life’s simplest and most significant lessons with her help. She would always provide me with tasks which would lead me to answer of simplest secrets of life. “Life is incessant source of wisdom. You just need to observe and pay attention to minor details.” – She would frequently quote. Whilst I was a child I was chubby, cute, and witty. I was a confident, happy-go-lucky person and could adjust anywhere and in any situation. Every time a person cursed or bothered me, I could let go and would bless the person in return. But I was constantly bullied at school; and tormented by comments made upon my physical structure. Each time I was bullied or commented upon, I came home with a profound sadness in my heart. As time passed on, gradually the positive attributes of my persona became unconstructive and my behavior maladaptive. My changed behavior was apparent in my usual conversation, communication and interaction with others. My self-image was distorted as well. My grandma perceived the change and decided to give me the first lesson of life. She gave me the task against the tradition of our family. It was Christmas time – and our whole family gets together at every Christmas, with no exceptions to it. My grandparents, uncles, aunt and their family visit us each year. Each year they would come to our place and Christmas time would be like a grand party. It was the responsibility of my elder sister and cousins, among other chores, to prepare the Christmas tree. Christmas tree was a symbol of mystic for us – the younger ones. The tradition was placed so as to prepare the young adults for the forthcoming tests of practical life. So that with the preparation they could interact and communicate amongst themselves effectively, work as a team, resolve their conflicts, be emphatic to others and be able to respect each other despite the differences among them. So amidst all the hustle and bustle of the occasion my grandma decided that this time I would prepare the Christmas tree – against the tradition. And because she carried an austere persona, nobody could object to it. She was the ultimate authority of our sweet home. So I was to be accompanied by my grandma to shopping. I was enthusiastic about the décor of the tree and for me it was the easiest of all tasks. I was wrong. We started off by selecting gift wrapping paper. Nothing suited my granny’s taste. Sometimes it was gaudy, sometimes too dull, too glittery, too many hearts, too many flowers … everything was ‘too much’. My enthusiasm died readily. Despite my distorted self-image and zero self-esteem, each gift paper appeared to be unique and beautiful. I guess it was my aesthetic sense. Granny started to symbolize all those people who had tortured me mentally in past. I felt I wasn’t capable of completing even a smallest task at hand. My sadness was overt with my facial expressions. But she seemed to take no notice at all. Just like all those people. We went to shop other materials required for the decoration. But her demanding and highly selective taste left no room for my choices. I would agree with her selection and tried to please her by my conformity. Then the unknown happened -- a miracle. She asked me whether I would like to have a favorite snack of mine with hot chocolate. She knew my favorites. I once again became excited. The miracle took place there only. While waiting for our food, she asked me very compassionately whether the materials we bought were of my choice or not. The warmth exuding from her made it comfortable for me to communicate with her wholeheartedly and honestly. I told her what I felt about the materials and about her too. She smiled. I was relaxed that at least I won’t be punished for speaking honestly. She said, “You were honest in your opinion of mine and were able to communicate to me effectively. That is a real big trait because very often people choose not to be honest whilst communicating each other. I congratulate you for that and don’t ever compromise with this characteristic of your personality. Now I have another point of discussion. I noticed that gift paper selection was rather a burden for you. Your choices didn’t go with me and you made faces to show your dislike. That is a bad manner. If our choices don’t match, that doesn’t mean we should disagree or dislike each other. Despite the differences – whether it’s our opinions or the way we are, we need to respect each other.” These words still have an intense effect on me. These words echo in my ears every now and then, reminding me to continue on the path shown by her. But the big revelation was still waiting for me in the corridor. While returning she allowed me to choose a gift paper of my own choice. When I selected one, she bent down and asked me why I had chosen it. I told her that it was the most unique one; different from others but it still mesmerized me. And it came from her, “Just like you are! Different from others, physically, but yet charming in your own unique way. So this is your first lesson: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Believe in what you are and not what others think of you.” That Christmas was the exceptional one; I learnt so many simple things of life in that one trip to shopping with grandma. I learnt to believe myself, to communicate honestly, not be in peer pressure, not necessarily conform to others until I believe so, and to shop with splendor and aesthetic taste within budget. This was just the first lesson. I had just begun on track of a special journey with my grand mom where life was indeed an infinite source of wisdom. I had just to look around to pick up the sweet fruits of wisdom. Once I went to spend my vacations with my grand parents. It was always special to spend time with them, to be able to help them in small unique ways and be the center of their attention. But that holiday began with test. Test of my patience. While communicating through letters my grandma had promised to buy me a special and unique gift for my forthcoming birthday. As soon as a got to their place, I started buzzing her about the surprise gift. She had set a series of conditions to complete to be able to acquire the gift till my birthday – which was fifteen days ahead. The task and related conditions were: a. to contribute a small amount of dollars for the gift; b. this amount will be earned by me, i.e. I couldn’t borrow anybody’s money; and c. I could not whine in regard to the gift to anybody. The last part was pretty tough. Every night I would go to bed dreaming about the enigmatic gift I would soon be receiving. I dare not tell anybody that I felt pissed off. Another difficulty I was encountering was that of ‘earning’ money. For it was elders’ task to earn money. Children don’t ‘earn’ money; they borrow from elders to buy something. But that was my idea; not my grand mum’s. Anyway, I was nobody to question what she had already set for me. Because I knew several lessons were waiting for me to be learnt. And I never really bothered about the tests – for one thing I knew it was for my own learning; and whatever the consequence of the test would be, I knew I would be received at home with same love and compassion I had received since I was born. So to deal with the earning part I started my search by asking the neighbors. But my idea was to earn the respective amount in a single day! After asking my price for the small chores the neighbors offered men and after their polite denial - I realized earning money is too tough. Nobody can earn money in a single day: lesson number one for the holidays. Then Charles, who lived next door, offered me to help him while he was fishing in a nearby lake. I jumped at the opportunity and let him decide this time what amount of money I should receive for the chore. I was ecstatic – it was my first opportunity to earn and for me fishing was an easy job. As usual I was wrong. Fishing happened to be a tough job indeed. Choosing the right bait was the toughest. I learnt another lesson: no job is too easy to perform. And one should always be prepared to invest a big amount of effort, in order to get success at the job. It was a long, tiring day. After putting in so much effort we were able to catch three beautiful fishes – for dinner. That day I realized how much effort my parents would be putting in to make my wishes come true; to make me and my sister happy through gifts and surprises. It was a tough realization though. I was small but these were simple lessons which triggered in me, the life long hunger for personal growth. Hadn’t it been for grandma Pearl’s tests – I wouldn’t have been wise for simple yet important choices of life. So my first experience to earn money was both – full of learning and exciting. But I was still without enough money required for the respective amount needed. Sometimes I would wonder why grandma had chosen to put a small amount of my money to buy gift for me. It was yet another lesson: everything in life has its price. However, to earn more I started looking forward to various chores offered by neighbors. As I took gardening, cleaning cars, chopping vegetables, making shopping lists, grocery lists, etc. I started enjoying each of these tasks. Although I still needed money sometimes I would not charge them anything. I would just ask if anybody needed my help. While executing these tasks, I had developed a hunger to help people without charging money. I felt a strange feeling of contentment. When I first told my grand mom about it, she beamed with happiness. It was my next lesson I had learnt: to be kind to people. Kindness is an act which gives you immeasurable contentment. I had learned, one of the most important lessons which many a times adults too forget to learn. Along with learning I had saved the respective amount of dollars needed. As soon as I had saved the requisite amount I gave it to my granny. In the meantime I had continued to day dream about my gift – (which I wanted to be) gold stud earrings. I had seen a beautiful pair in a shop and that was my ideal gift from someone who loved me so much. And with the money I had earned I thought I could buy them. I was so naïve. But to my dismay and disappointment my birthday came and went without the gift. When I asked about it, my grandma made a vary excuse. Though I was saddened I was content with the utilization this holiday had brought with it. Without letting me know, my grandma had given me life’s toughest and most important lesson: patience. And when we are patient about things to take place, to let the events fall in place – the fruits seem to be sweeter than anything else. It’s really tough to overcome the distress of present and look beyond it and to be able to visualize any good in it. But not receiving the gift on my birthday had involuntarily granted me precious lessons of life. Whilst shopping with my granny, I again saw the shop embracing my ideal earrings pair. I felt some stirring within my heart but I had learnt to overcome the distress. She intuitively knew what was within my heart. It was to be my last trip to shopping with granny as I was soon returning my home. After I came home, I started packing things and soon my day to leave my grand parents was there. With loads of lessons, I was both happy and sad to leave me grand parents. It was a strange mixture of emotions I had never felt. I was pleased with my learning but was sad to leave them. Yet it was inevitable; as I approached my granny to hug and bid farewell, out of nowhere two-three butterflies fluttered around us. I was surprised but she told me that it was a good omen! She always believed in omens and had taught me to believe in them too. She then held out a small packet to me– to be opened after I reached my home. My grand father was holding yet another packet which I was allowed to open in front of them only. It was the most beautiful angel pin I have ever set my eyes upon. And I was grateful to him to gift me such a breathtaking thing. He told me that it belonged to me – it was bought by him with the money I had collected by performing various chores. It was my first possession of life. I am still proud of it. When I went home and opened my long awaited gift! It was the same pair of earrings I had dreamt of. My patience had paid me off this time. Along with it was a note: “Patience can bring you joys you have never known! It is tough to implement but believe in yourself; believe in the effort you have put in; look out for the omens God has put in your path; and reach out for your dream. And, when you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” I always have that note by my side irrespective of time, place and space. And as I grew up I have learnt to add new meanings to it with new experiences life has been bestowing me. There are numerous other events which took place and I learnt from each of them. But all for them, my grand mom was the one who was responsible. She taught me about the desires, perception and how to put them to action. She taught me to believe in my dreams; to listen and follow my heart. But she first taught me to believe in myself. She was indeed an incredible woman! Reference: Cohelo, Paulo. The Alchemist. New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers, 2004. Read More