The first time I heard about the bigger picture was as a
design student. In theory and practical application, the bigger picture somehow
almost seemed to be the focal point, without ever being seen. Without having
fully understood what it stood for, I started disliking the bigger picture, for
making all us small ones look so bad.
When it is always about the bigger picture, then why are we
earthlings struggling so hard with our little pixel? As a person who had just
begun taking her first wobbly stepson the road to adulthood, the struggles
within my tiny bubble were real.
Forgetting my phone charger was a hindrance, not knowing how to travel
alone in a new city was a big challenge, looking for a comfortable seat in an
alien canteen was terrifying and learning to allocate funds was probably one of
the most testing experiences of the 19 year old me. While I was waging my wars,
one triviality at a time, I subconsciously grew more aware of the larger
picture. The question seemed to trouble
me more with each usage of the phrase. At one point in time, I remember
understanding it contextually, which at that point translated to ‘an umbrella
concept’ which enveloped many bifurcations under itself. The understanding was
quite one sided and for the longest time I was complacent within my one
dimensional vision of the concept.
As I attempted to truly understand what this invisibly big
picture was all about, I felt even more confused with the multitudes of small
pictures I came across. I met so many diverse types of people, came across such
strong energies, hung out with people I was overwhelmed; amazed; amused;
motivated; influenced and peer pressured by, and in this process of interacting
with the world, I realized there was more to the world, there were things
beyond my tiny pixel of existence.
There can be no fair judgment about a journey, each may be
fruitful to the traveler in a unique way. While an obstacle always presents itself
in front of the traveler, it is completely upon the traveler to decide the next
course of action. While some choose to stagnate, some choose to continue
flowing and what must be remembered is that each journey continues to be
beautiful in its own way.
Today, I stumbled upon a picture of two of my best friends
sitting together in a foreign country. While one had been in love with the
other, the other was able to offer only friendship in return. Over these years
their bond grew cold, staying limited to brief social media greetings. When the
lover got to know of the other coming to his country, after seven long years of
strangeness, he was unable to decide what the right thing to do was. Must he
face the friend whom he longed love from or must he behave coldly, like nothing
happened at all?
The fact that he decided to go and see the friend made me
smile thinking of the larger picture. It is when we see things beyond our
periphery of existence, it is when we decide to sync our energy with something
beyond our self, it is when we see beyond our impulsive reactions that we begin
to see the haze fade. The bigger picture starts becoming clearer the moment we
decide to let go of selfishness, the moment we understand that there is more to
life than just taking and asking for our self. When we do things, that do not
lead to immediate self gratification, but more of a feeling of ‘investment’ for
loved ones, it is then that we see the bigger picture.
There will be people who will never be able to see the
bigger picture, and there will be people who will be able to. For the ones who
are able to, shall be seen smiling just a tad more, shall have a few more
nights of peaceful sleep, and shall lose out on some angry battles over the
course of time. What shall make the battles worth fighting is the vision of the
bigger picture, and how truly beautiful it is to be a part of it.
