Fr. Sebastian
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]end, not break” can be an important principle in human relationships. Everyday in our life, we come across people and situations, ideas and plans of action, conflicts and solutions very different from our own. At work place or in the market, in the political arena or in the social clubs or even amidst your family member difference opinions are expressed, debated and arriving at conclusions different from what you held or desired.
If you held fast to a set of ideas, values and patterns of behavior, you will find it easy for you to apply solutions to every situation, solutions that fit in to your thought pattern and value system. But then as time goes by you come across persons who do not care for your value system or your way of applying solutions to the problems at hand. This in turn brings forth conflict and strained relationships. When your stress and strain reaches a certain pitch you break down or you cause others to break. Both the casualities are undesirable. If you observe the reeds along the lake or the river side, you will find them bent and not broken. They just humble themselves and bend their heads when the wind lashes at them. When the wind or the storm has blown off, they straighten themselves up and put their heads up once more. If they stand stiff against the lashing winds they certainly break and perish.
If you observe the politics of our country these years, you will find a great spirit of accommodation. The politicians call it “the coalition Dharma”. It is the coalition compulsions or adjustments a party makes in order to accommodate a coalition partner very often done to prolong the life of the coalition, which often means the life of the government. It is also a fact that no government or the opposition, is eager to go to the polls to face the electorate, for no one is sure of the next term. So each one pulls along if possible to the end of the term. In your personal life you will face situations that require strong decisions that may snap your relationship with someone else. Here you must remember that rigidity may not be the best solution. You need to keep an open mind. Remember that there can be more than one solution to a problem and that yours is only one of them. Different minds perceive the problem differently and apply different solutions. Change brings growth and not rigidity. Innovations and with it progress came, when people began to make so many changes that revolutionized the world. The deep human values will remain there will be lots of changes in the method of production, means of communication and travel. In this fast-moving world, be prepared to change or perish.
