Celebrating our Differences

Looking around us, we see that every creation is different. Similar - yes, to an extent, yet different in their own league.

Humans, being the "elite" (I like to believe that we are.!), are strikingly different from each other. Composed of the exact same components, we are still very very different from the other. It would have been a great deal easier for the creator (yes, I believe that we are "created" as a species and did not just "evolve") to have picked up one "format" as such and just go on with that.

However, each one of us was beautifully crafted in signature styles - unique and custom made.

According to quantum physics, there are approximately 10 ^{10 70} ways in which the matter that makes up a human body can be arranged. Now that is a really humongous number - it is 1 followed by 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000  zeroes!

Yet each one of us is designed in one unique way, out of the very many ways that we could be made in. If we were to run a probability algorithm, there is a high chance that a couple combinations would have repeated themselves by now - perhaps in the case of twins and triplets. Looking around us, we know that there have been absolutely no repeats whatsoever (Bollywood and TV soaps make us believe otherwise) There are no two individuals that are the same, in the true sense of the word. Heck! Even identical twins are not alike.

Of all the numerous ways of "arranging" us, one particular "arrangement" was chosen for each one of us, ensuring that every combination is unique, ever since time. We have been created as distinguished Master Pieces

Each of us has different dispositions as a result of this exclusive designing. It is this dissimilarity that creates the distinctions between our thoughts, our actions, our ideas, our perceptions and our choices.
We are meant to be Unique; designed different from each other, just like snow flakes.

Being different is not out-of-the-ordinary. It is fundamental to our creation and our existence. It is this inherent contrast among us that is the seed for inquisitiveness, creativity, and aspirations. Nurture it, feed it and let it grow. It is the innate nature of these differences bestows upon us the power to change the world.

Everything we do, every thought, every choice, every action, matters - because of the inherent nature of the meaningful, innate discretion. No matter how small or big or tiny or overwhelming the scenario, or how muck likeness it has to do with another situation, it will be different. Unique in its own sense.

Each thought-choice-action cycle creates different wavelengths and energies around us. These energies combine, collide and amalgamate, resulting in the world around us today. It is because of one choice that someone made some thousands of years ago (time-travel sci-fi reference!) that the world is what it is. 

Everything matters. We matter. It may appear to be very insignificant this moment, but could turn out to be the very event that changed the world. Remember, every wave starts of as a ripple.

By being ourselves, by being unique, we are giving the world something that did not exist ever before. We initiate unique "ripples" that have the power to create electricity, when channelled in the right direction.

Let’s decide to be ourselves.

                                      Choose Right.

                                                 And Make a difference.

“Every single thing you do matters. You have been created as one of a kind. You have been created in order to make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world."

Hijabi. ????

"Hijabi" is a very common way that I have been addressed as in the last few years, ever since I started wearing the Headscarf...

For those who are not aware of the "Hijab", it is a way of dressing where the woman is covered from head to toe, with just the face and hands (upto the wrists) are visible, and it very much includes wearing a head-scarf (picture below).

Not that being called a Hijabi sounds bad, but I have been given a name by my parents and I prefer to be addressed by that name...

Would you call someone who always wears Jeans "Jeanie" or "Jeansie"?

How about those who are ever dressed in Salwar Suits? Would they be addressed as "Salwis" or something like that???

Then why does dressing in a Hijab make you a Hijabi? Not just that - it also makes you "conservative", "oppressed", "silenced" and a whole list of other ideologies... You BECOME the clothing and the Ideology.

Do you cease being you when you decide to dress a certain way or advocate a certain ideology?

I was under the impression that we have a Choice... To choose how we dress and define our own sense of style. But it seems to me that my choice of dressing has led people to believe that my attire is ME.

Since when are people "attires" and "ideologies"? If we do not label people as Jeansie or Salwis, then why label me (and countless other women) a Hijabi?

Why the double standards? Why the naming?

Dressing up in a Hijab was a very personal, informed and conscious decision that I made, and stand-by till date. No force, no compulsion, no influence, no coercion whatsoever can be blamed for it.

And so have countless other women around the world made a choice.

Its time that we respect people for their choices and ideologies. Not "name" them and "define" them with something so superficial as clothing.

Next time you come across a woman wearing a Hijab, don't address her by her attire. She may not be offended, but surely will not appreciate it either.

Rather, just walk up to her and know her story. You will be glad you did.!

Until next time, adios amigos!

Perfect Beauty is a Fallacy

Esther Hoing, a journalist by profession, got in touch with more than 40 photographers from over 25 countries with one request – to make her beautiful. Her purpose, was to establish whether or not there was a globally accepted standard for Beauty.

The result – Each one got back with a different picture!

What she discovered, and presented to the world, is priceless. This picture epitomizes a long forgone truth that beauty has different meanings for different people in different cultures.

No individual picture can claim to be the most beautiful or the most perfect. Each one is Perfect and Beautiful in its own right.

The lady in the picture is as beautiful in dark skin as she is in the lighter tone. She looks pretty with a complete headscarf and without. She is glamorous with her hair tied up and let loose. She is lovely in her original picture and her ‘beautified’ images.

Then why is being dark skinned in South Asia such a taboo? Why is wearing a Hijab/ headscarf considered an imprisonment across the globe? Why is it not-as-pretty-as-the-girl-in-the-poster if there is no make-up? Why is it that we chase the idea of being “picture perfect” or being “socially acceptable” or even being “the model on the poster”?

Why is it that nations around the world interpose what should be worn or what should not be worn? Who is the “signing authority” on the kind of attire that is acceptable or not? Why do a minority of people dictate the terms to the majority of people?

These questions intrigue the mind whilst they are being asked, but fade into oblivion once the matter has passed. We fail to recognize that the interpretation of beauty and acceptance is expounded by the culture and social environs of a person, being blinded by a false façade created by those who don’t matter, and certainly don’t care. A masquerade created by those who are in the so called “beauty business”, as an approach to make (more) money. 

We are bombarded with these fake ideals every day, every single hour. There is no escape from this incessant blitz that slowly creeps into the minds, and sticks there (Recent studies claim that 95% of the impact is subconscious! Only a mere 5% is a conscious “awareness”). Anything repeated often enough, becomes the acceptable truth.

Women, teenagers and even pre-teens are under self – inflicted coercion to “look more beautiful” and chase the idea of a near – impossible perfection in their expression of beauty. Children as young as 5 year olds awfully believe that sexuality and sensuousness are prerequisites for looking and feeling beautiful, murdering their innocence in the process.

All because of the F word – Fashion – that is used to conceal the entire act.

Styles get in and out of fashion just as frequently as daily commuters get on and off the public transport; Beauty has a new definition with each passing day; Perfection has become a daily struggle, with each toil setting the bar higher and higher, making it nearly impossible for commoners to even appreciate - or even think about - their individuality.

Societies that shun the illusion are viewed as “imposing” and “restricting” by those that “embrace” this idea, chasing a mirage every day. Sticking to the roots is a trait to be hidden from the world in the fear of being labelled “old-fashioned”. Women across the globe are inadvertently pushed to pursue perfection, whose bars are set in the name of Fashion and Acceptance in the society.

30 years ago, it did not matter what size or shape or how heavy a woman was. Today, just because some superstar-model-wife-of-a-superstar-footballer is mere bones, the concept of “Size Zero” is established. What more – the world around, women are starving themselves to near-death to achieve this “milestone”. How preposterous!

It is more prudent today, than has been any other time, that we allow ourselves the freedom to appreciate our individual ‘beauty’, in a manner ‘acceptable’ in our distinctive ideals.

Beauty is an individual choice and interpretation and not a globally accepted phenomenon. Beauty is an expression of the inner self, tranquility, posture, grace, charisma and elegance, with every individual having their characteristic beliefs reflecting in their assertion.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

Beauty is Relative.!

Embrace YOUR Beauty.!