Exploring Possibilities: Try, Don't Cry!

Exploring Possibilities: Try, Don't Cry!

On 10th of December 1914, there was a massive explosion in West Orange, New Jersey in the United States of America. This explosion resulted in engulfing the nine buildings in the factory, owned and developed by the legendary inventor we know, Thomas Alva Edison. He was looking at the fire without blinking his eyes. With him also stood his son, watching the fire with a facial expression of all lost in life. Mr. Edison asked his son to go and bring his mother and aunts too.

He said that they all should have a look at this spectacular fire. Never in their life would they have seen such a fire, so close. Son, though surprised and baffled, still obeyed his father (it was 1914, not 2014.) and brought other members of the family. After some passage of time, he asked his father as to why he was not disturbed by the fire accident.

Mr. Edison replied, with this fire, all my mistakes are burnt. I knew there were certain misses and improvement areas, in my earlier conceptual design which could not be corrected after a certain stage. Now since fire has happened, all those mistakes are burned and now I can start anew. Though I am exhausted at this stage of life, this opportunity to start it again has given me a chance to use, not only my skill, but my experience to build it from scratch. This excitement has given me a new zeal.

I must update it here that Mr. Edison was born in 1847 and in 1914 he was 67 years of age. Friends, just imagine, if we get an opportunity to restart our journey of our life with a backup of skill and experience we have today. If we are cognizant, conscious and aware, we will correct all our mistakes and rebuild a fantastic life and world for ourselves.

I remember a quote that I heard from a speaker, “today is the first day of rest of your life”. This just gives me so much energy. Had you ever observed the resilience of a tree? It grows fastest from the place where it was cut, and that’s nature for us, or we can say it’s natural, but we have distanced ourselves so much from nature that natural looks theoretical to us.

Once a man reached a stadium and saw a very competitive football match on. It was being played with great intensity and energy. Out of his curiosity he asked the coach, the score. Coach said that his team was trailing by 0-3. This man’s jaw dropped at that moment. How come the players have this energy at this score. Coach said, we still have time to cover and the referee has not yet blown the game over whistle. Coach’s team won the match by 5-4 in its favor.

So let us not allow the situations to take control over our actions and spirit. Even if the defeat looks inevitable, we must try to avert and prolong it. We always have time, until our referee blows the final whistle. Any situation gives us two options, either to try or to cry. By crying I do not refer to tears. Yes, there is nothing wrong in shedding tears.

But keep on shedding them and making them a part of life, will only make you a tragedy king/queen. That’s good in reel life, but not in real life. Always remember pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Mr. Edison must have felt the pain of destruction, but he didn’t allow it to suffer him.

When we cry we say, I can’t, but when we try we say I can. When we cry we are in a denial and resistance mode and when we try we are in a discovery mode. When we cry we look for solace, when we try we give solace to others. When we cry we look upon the reasons, when we try we look upon possibilities.

So my dear friends TRY, DON’T CRY and explore possibilities......

(The author is a Certified Designed Thinking Master practitioner and Clifton Certified Strength Finder Coach, Corporate Trainer and a Leadership coach)

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The News Agency
www.thenewsagency.in