Don't jump to conclusions

It has been rightly elicited that many people, from all walks of life, tend to jump to conclusions. This is usually due to the fact that the person in question is inordinately impulsive, hasty and perhaps even reckless.

The person may have the trait of being extremely apprehensive and may be overly concerned about possible outcomes. It is imperative that people stop short in their tracks, and review the current situation in a calm, dispassionate frame of mind and then draw an informed inference of what ACTUALLY happened - even if this takes a lot of time!

There was once a couple who was blessed with a baby boy after seven years of marriage. Since they had been childless for a relatively long time, when they did get their baby, they were all the more paranoid and cautious about its safety. One day, the couple went out and put the baby in the care of their pet, a huge golden retriever dog. They trusted the dog completely with their tender, fragile baby.

Hours went by. Finally, in the evening, the parents returned and were shocked to see blood dripping from the face and paws of the dog. Imagining the worst and jumping to conclusions, the parents thought in their anxiety that the dog must have attacked the baby and was, therefore, bloodied. So, the father in a blind fit of rage, took out his gun and point blank shot the dog dead. They then rushed to see their baby and were surprised but pleasantly relieved to see the baby sleeping calmly and unperturbed. Nearby, they chanced to see a lifeless snake, which was motionless and in a pool of blood. It was then that it dawned on the couple that the dog had actually saved the baby's life by attacking the snake, which had come to attack the baby.

Indeed, too often, people do not weigh the pros and cons, and do not scrutinize and analyse the scenario cogently and objectively, but become hasty and judgmental. One should take time to calm and settle one's nerves, and retrace the event rationally to come to a plausible solution.

I remember when I was 14 years old in Class IX at Bishop Cotton Girls' School. I told my mother that I wanted a diamond for my birthday. When my birthday dawned and I was due to open my birthday gifts, I was a trifle disappointed that the diamond did not figure among the gifts. Instead, my mother had given me a birthday card in an envelope. I was ready to fling this card away in fury. However, my mother said, "Heera, just read what I have written in the card".

I did so and could feel tears streaming down my face, for my mother had written, "You will get the diamond - a girl's very best friend - if you come first in Class IX". Sometimes, what we desire is not always packaged the way we expect. It would be prudent that we make it a point not to leap or jump to hasty and erroneous conclusions, which can indeed turn out to be in many cases tragic and fatal.