It's been some time since I wanted to propose this theory of mine.
It's often shocked me how some people often live inside a bubble all their life. The bubble effectively seals them from the realities of the outside world. Like a fish in a bowl. Imagine yourself as a pretty gold fish swimming inside a nice spherical bowl, and you are swimming, swimming and basically that's all you are doing. From time to time you peer outside and the world appears fuzzy to you. Everything is distorted and the green algae forming on the walls is making your vision cloudy. But you don't care, in fact that's how you want it. The fish bowl is your world, nothing exists outside it and frankly you don't care. Food is plopped into your bowl, it's good, life goes on. You get bored sometimes, so you go and bully the guppies a bit. You are careful not to antagonize the resident fighter fish. Yes, life goes on. It's not great, but it is your world and you're in perfect control of it.
That's it the goldfish example ends, there's not going to be some dramatic ending to it.
The point I am trying to make here is that people willingly construct these glass bubbles. The fish doesn't have a choice but we do. We build glass bubbles all the time. Everyone does it to a greater or lesser extent. Some build glass bubbles, others soap bubbles. No one can be excluded. There is one fundamental problem with bubbles. They don't let stuff inside. Change is painful. The fairy tale world does not wish to be disturbed. The smaller the bubble the better. The more stuff that comes inside, makes the bubble grow bigger and your world gets more difficult to understand and control. So the doctrine is to keep your bubble small and strong, preferably made of glass.
What sort of people make small glass bubbles ? and who are the people who tend towards the larger permeable soap bubbles ?
I do have an answer for this. And my answer is that the people who don't feel threatened have softer larger bubbles. And those in the quest of a larger meaning , those who are trying to find the unity amongst all things, like how the sages of my country did on top of the himalayas, they are in the pursuit of making the bubble vanish all together. They are searching for the ultimate truth, the one that makes you see the universe as it is.
I would like to do that sometime.
9 comments:
True too. I believe these people fall into the reticent lot. But that's probably just the way they are.
I know someone who had a bubble around him. Then I did not know it was a 'bubble'. Now I know that it was a 'bubble'!
@ vignesh
I wouldn't agree with reticent. I've met a lot of outgoing jovial people who just won't budge from their viewpoint.
In fact, I think reticent people see the merit in shutting their trap and observing to filter out the noise.
Is it a bad thing if the goldfish is happy in its bowl? Its fed and cared for etc. Not everyone wants to know the meaning of life. I've never lived in a city long enough to love it but I've always had friends who spend entire lifetimes the same house. Do they have a bubble? Yes. But in that bubble is that soft warm place they feel at home in. And sometimes I feel I could give up all this open-mindedness and lack of/softer/larger bubble for that.
really liked this a lot :)
interesting thought!
I think I'll soon make a post on Bubble bursters, with reference to your bubble theory! I like!
@madan
That's your choice.
@adi
iAwait.
i believe bubbles help you maintain a perspective rather than blur your vision. but i look at it as the pressurized cabin in an airplane.. you are aware of the outside conditions and you know its difficult to survive.. so you create a comfortable existence for yourself... and i believe everyone does that... I have a bubble around me... but not to keep me unaware of what's happening outside but to keep me safe from it... self-preservation :)
@ heartfelt13
'Self preservation' is a very accurate way to describe it. But you are referring to the bubble only from your own point of view. That these outside forces are out to get you and you are protecting yourself.
My point is more than that. It is to rise above the individual. To see the oneness and connectedness of all things. I don't know how this can be done, but there are countless references to this in all the old scripts by the wise men of yore. I have a belief that history repeats itself and you can learn a lot from history. So they must be saying something sensible.
Another thing, when you say you are aware of outside conditions. How can you be aware of the cold and the chill, the thunder and the lightning, the beauty of seeing the birds on the horizon when you are locked in a pressurised cabin. All you could have done was gotten a small sample at some point of time, built a rather elaborate theory based on this small sample and then added it to the fabric of your bubble to make it stronger / less permeable. This would aid you in your efforts of self preservation and to reduce the desire to sample further.
Whoah..! that was a long comment.. :P
Talking about history.. From what i believe.. i feel all those who managed to connect well with the world had a bubble around them.. They were the most self-preserved people around... They had so much control on what affects them and what doesn't that they could connect with everything.. Its like one way traffic from the bubble.. no one can get inside without your permission but you can reach whoever you want...
Doesn't the image of buddha give you a feeling that he was well above us and we couldn't reach him if he didn't want us to?
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