7 minute read
Being Boundless Sans Barriers
from Impact
— BY INDERJIT SINGH
Advertisement
Shall we, for a moment, imagine a world sans boundary? Sounds like a utopian concept! You may even say – not humanly possible. I however, believe that we can. A world sans barrier, where “humanity” is the only overriding factor for the world and not the geographical delineation, the size, population, material resources, the networth, the per-capita income the military might et al of the nations or the skin color, religion, culture of the people.
The French preposition “sans’ means "without," indicating a lack in general, an absence, privation or an exclusion. It can be used with nouns, pronouns, and verbs, and it appears in many French idiomatic expressions; with different connotations.
The reference here to the world-withoutborders is more symbolic than physical boundaries. It refers here to the mental, phycological, attitudinal, perceptional and cultural barriers between common people at humanto-human level leading to mental-block that exists between some leaders and governments of different nations, leading to misinformation, misunderstanding, lack of faith and trust which at times manifest into struggle, confrontation, conflict and even war-like situations.
Granted that physical boundaries ought to be demarcated for protection from invasions, proper governance and also for the maintenance of the sovereign law and order, often referred to as the ‘law of the land’.
This phenomenon however, does not deprive them of not having similar - not essentially the same, thought processes towards humanity at large. A kind of commonality between ideology of larger universal appeal and acceptance.
Do you see any boundaries? I don’t.
BEING BEYOND HUMAN - BEING YOU!
You may agree, disagree, or agree to disagree. That’s essentially your prerogative. Your point-of-view is however, equally important, if not more! You have the absolute right to choose your path, as I have, in the capacity of an individual entity. You must decide with complete command and control over your heart and mind, since more importantly, you are eventually going to fully own your decision and the consequences thereof. However, if you were to join my tribe; I assure you of a big life-long party; continuously celebrating together every moment of your “living” on this planet earth. Mind you, living I said, and not merely “existing”. In my world, it isn’t about crawling through life but flying together, embracing and enjoying all of it – always! Afterall, if we have been bestowed by Him – the Creator with the wings - of thoughts, imagination and vision – then why crawl and not fly? The essential lesson I've learned in life is to just be yourself and this thought process has been a driving force behind my being. Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost that you're not here as a human being only but you're a spiritual being, having a human experience. I can perhaps attribute this to my having born in “high seas” in no man’s land, or an “area beyond any national jurisdiction”. The realization dawned on me as I was growing, that I belong nowhere on the land area on this planet and yet everywhere – sea being the binding element uniting all the land masses of the world. The commitment of my existence was naturally to befall over the world at large. These thoughts molded me in my formative years into what has become of me today. As I write, I am reminded of that divine soul Rita – an accomplished writer and a recipient of several coveted awards worldwide; who wrote a piece on me for a magazine called “Flair’ in its column “profile”. It was on my selection by the UN, at a relatively young age in a seemingly senior position; deemed by her to be a significant achievement and an example for others to emulate. Rita titled it “Inderjit – the world is his Oyster.” This further reinforced my belief that there ought to be a purpose, a commitment and perhaps a hidden-agenda for each one of us to vigorously pursue spiritual, professional and human contribution while we are in transit on this planet. My assignments around the world in different global locations as a UN expert & advisor, for time-spans ranging from a fortnight to a few months each, at times in some hardship stations in hostile environments, made me toughenough to take all that in my stride and put my best foot forward to achieve the desired goals - come what may! All this came with awareness and introspection plus a good deal of determination, conviction, belief and the intense desire to serve. Believe you can and you’re halfway there! That is where I find the “Monk” in me who would ride his Ferrari with impunity and on his own terms.
I am in this narrative simply expressing my perception of the world, as I envisage.
JUST LET GO!
When you let go of who you are, you become who you might be. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond winning” so said Lao Tzu; the author of one of my favorite books of all time, Tao Te Ching. There is so much power, so much wisdom and so much magic in this incredible little book.
Undoubtedly, we live in a competitive society and are often told that we must expend a great amount of energy and, if necessary, use force to get what we want. The survival of the fittest mentality is deeply entrenched in our culture. Much of this thinking comes from Darwin's Origin of the Species, a work which has influenced the world in the most profound and subtle ways, not least of all because it advanced the idea that competition was a natural and normal part of life. Whatever we might think about Darwin, we do tend to see the world in these competitive terms. The picture of earth before and after an opinion. No change! The moral of the story: don’t take yourself too seriously. But there is another way of thinking. There is another way of getting things done, a way which sees nature differently and recognizes the importance of harmony, balance and living peacefully, sans force but with harmony, compassion, and empathy for all. This “other way” is what I am advocating and following. That was one opinion and this is a yet another opinion. The opinions don’t change the world; however, the world does change opinions. We cannot know the future, but we can, with experience, see that our present actions have consequences that ripple out into time and space and shape our lives well into the future. We can see, for example, that habitual negative thinking leads to pain, failure and frustration, whereas a clear vision of where we want to go usually leads to a better life. When I look back over my life, I can see a chain of causes and effects – the actions I took had certain results which have changed my life, forever. So be careful what you think and what you do – everything has a consequence. and, that is an important skill to acquire and cultivate.
MY TAKE:
Being human is given. But, keeping our humanity is a choice. At the center of our being, we have the answer; we know who we are and know what we want.
The line “There is no point in living if you don’t feel alive” from the movie “The world is not enough” - a 1999 spy film and the nineteenth in the James Bond series and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond sums it all; and resonates with me and my thinking. Towards the end of this writeup I wish to share with you a few lines written by the ancient Greek pre-Socratic, Ionian philosopher Heraclitus: “Day by Day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become.” Additionally, the last words of the poem titled “Have you earned your Tomorrow” by Edgar Albert Guest a Britishborn U.S. writer whose poems were widely read during the first half of the 20th century that I wish to share with you goes something like this “As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God would say, you have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today.” I feel, if you meditate on this one question, frequently, the self-awareness that will emerge, will create a powerful force for inner growth and transformation.
ABOUT INDERJIT SINGH
Inderjit has served as an ICAO airport development consultant in several countries of Asia, South-East Asia, Middle-East, Africa and South America. He was the CEO of IGI Airport, New Delhi – the 16th busiest in the world. He has hands-on-experience of all functional aspects of administration and operations of a major international airport. He is an MBA, followed by advanced management course at “Henley-the Management College”, Oxford shire, UK, and on aviation management from the University of California, Berkeley, USA.
He can be reached at inderjit.singh@aviationanalyst.net
