Sift yourself before shifting blame

"The quest for perfection isolates us, our vulnerabilities are what makes us accessible and human"- Mary Mcbride

There is a perpetual want in each of us to get to the pinnacle of perfection. We would love to be honoured and recognised for our mastery, an unblemished tapestry and unrivalled supremacy. This is a tedious task, and a perfect canvas is sought to meet requirements.

But we are 'ordained' to be human. Follies and imperfections appear in different phases of life. Do we notice these faults? In the pretext of being paragons of virtues, we shirk accepting our errors. Our ego hurts, if we stoop to embrace our follies. We opt for a better stand. Our blame falls to forces that are outside our control. The blaming is done with ease and comfort.

I recall the instance in one of the poems written by Tagore. A small boy sets afloat his paper boat across the flooded river. He innocently blames God for ruining his play, as his boat was not able to sustain. He remarks that the Almighty was jealous of his fun time. As we grow older, we try to raise the bar of aspirations.

Sometimes, in the battle of life, our efforts and calibre do not culminate in success. Before we sift ourselves to a test of analysis and realisation, we begin to blame ‘fate’. This is often the most notorious factor claimed for failure. Its gamut extends from a ‘quirk’ to a ‘debacle’. Why do we cringe to accept our flaws? Is it because we perch ourselves on the pedestal of excellence?

We have been complacent in relationships that are based on diplomacy and niceties. We are rarely made to realise our shortcomings. It is high time we noted that there is a ‘flaw’ with every ‘flair’. And a ‘crest’ with every ‘trough’. One need not be ‘crestfallen’ though.

So let’s stop playing the games of the victim, blame and defence. Our tendency to blame others are excuses for not looking truthfully at our own issues and they keep us stuck in our path. Let us elevate ourselves by harnessing our sensibilities.