We lead a life of likes. We do things that we like, we want to watch listen to music that we like, choose food that we like, choose relationship based on our liking towards a person. We don’t do some things because we just don’t like them. Have we ever tried to question as to why we like something. Have we ever tried to find out a deeper meaning of the association of things beyond just likes and dislikes?
It’s very difficult to question why we have “likes” or “dislikes” in fact it’s difficult to question those likes with high stakes. We provide justifications such as the way we are brought-up, the culture we belong to, and influence from situations and circumstances of our lives that makes our likings. But STOP and think, are these answers convincing enough to push away the question?
We can see a relationship between our likes and our capabilities or say expertise. They are very much aligned. We are almost experts at what we like, be it movies or our work domain. We are almost always in the “auto-pilot” mode and we tend to like it. We detest any disturbance being introduced to our routine. Spontaneity is what we are proud of, as well as it is very much applauded by people who recognize it. For a moment let’s take a break and question why we are so spontaneous about the things that we like. How come we are so comfortable doing it? Have we just settled for a logical answer? Have we ever wondered if there is an entire path that can open up to a different world if we go little deeper than just our instinctive likes! Let’s a take a simple example, if you like a soap, have you ever wondered what in your favorite soap you like. Have you ripped the qualities of the soap and see whether you like a particular attribute (such a fragrance, texture) of the soap? If you like the fragrance, what about that fragrance? and so on. As you can see, this could lead you to a different world altogether and your regular expertise might not help much in this kind of exploration.
Can we be aware of why we are behind our liking? Are we able to answer the question: what makes us like a particular thing or a person? When we are aware of what attribute we like, it brings forth many other aspects in our radar. So to be aware of our likes has some potential to move us in a direction or in a path which leads us to an exploration.
Each one us have unique pattern in our “likings”, a certain way the mind functions and a certain way the body functions. We can’t forcibly question or reason out this pattern, we can only be aware of the way we move along with a set pattern. It is very evident for people outside to easily recognize this pattern in us than ourselves. We need to get to know our pattern, as pattern per say may be a limiting factor. The templates in us may be a reason for success but its limiting factor as well. A set of templates is given to animals too but only a human being can cognizant of the fact of this template that is inherent.
The problem in leading the life with template is that it is just bondage. The way our world works, is not according to any template. The stress that exists today is because of the friction between the world and our template that is mismatching. Everything for us must go according to our template, if something doesn’t then there is always friction and unhappiness. More we bring in the harmony by adjusting our template more friction we are going to experience. The true freedom exists in throwing away our template.
So what can we, right now, do with our likes in life:
- Be aware of our likes and find out the strength in the likes that’s making us act now!
- Pursue our likes, do research, and never stop at shallow level by mere logical analysis. Move towards the deeper meaning of our likes by consciously questioning it
- Explore the root of our likes. Move towards the deeper meaning of our likes by consciously questioning it and constantly being aware of it
