How do you begin to quantify a feeling? We’re not used to putting a price on our emotions much like how we value material. In the materialistic society today, we often measure everything based on how much we would pay for things. We forget to indulge experientially and spiritually. Think about how most of us make decisions based on the price we would pay. A new band or orchestra coming to town. We start analysing how famous they are, how much we love their work, how often they come and of course, how much we are willing to pay for it to consider it a worthwhile experience. Although highly valid, we forget a key factor; spontaneity and the power of play. As a child, we would tap into our feelings intuitively and hardly over-contemplate such ideas. They ask themselves, is it going to be fun? Is it going to be a once-in-a-lifetime and highly unique experience? – then the answer is YES! How great your experience will be, depends on your perspective; the lens through which you view the experience. Children hardly ever get disappointed when trying new things because they are open-minded. They start having expectations only through learning from adults and their environment. That’s the point they start to get a taste of what being disappointed feels like. The more expectations you have for something that hasn’t yet happened, the more you are fine-tuning that lens to be more and more microscopic. If we view the world through a microscope, we will only zoom in on the minor details without room to experience the big picture. We begin to narrow our thoughts and perspective on our day-to-day events. Imagine a world where we get to absorb information just as it is and allow it to present to you the pure intentions and energy it holds without judgement. Here’s an example of the difference between how you would experience the same situation with two different sets of perspectives.

Narrowed View:
One day you came across an advertisement about a seminar with one of the world’s most renowned song writer. You’ve always been interested in song writing but never got around to getting it started because you have all these beliefs about how you’re probably not cut out for it, you don’t know how to get started, you don’t have the necessary background and you’ve decided that it’s not the life for you. Because of this belief, you continued scrolling and ignored your intuitive feeling of excitement that lasted only for a split second. You never would have known what lies on the other side if you have clicked on it and joined this seminar (which cost nominally).

Open-minded view:
One day you came across an advertisement about a seminar with one of the world’s most renowned song writer. You’ve always been interested in song writing but didn’t know how to get started. You noticed the immediate feeling of excitement and allowed yourself to bathe in that feeling. You’ve always viewed the world as a place full of joy, light and hope. The world is truly your playground and you believe in counting your blessings, no matter how minute they are. Because of this belief, you took the opportunity to understand further about this seminar. You realised that you’ve heard one of the many songs she’s composed. You remembered this song fondly and wondered what was the journey like writing that song and what inspired her. You lay no expectations whether this question you have would be answered through the seminar and you went ahead to purchase the tickets. On the day of the event, you woke up and there were some troubles at home but you rolled out of bed and tuned in to this seminar either way. The moderator was full of smiles, you see the throngs of people rolling in one by one in the gallery view and finally, you see the song writer. She shared about her life and all the work she has done. There was a Q&A board where people put their questions up there and members of the audience could vote to bump up the questions. You sat through the seminar and the song writer spoke about that very song you heard! Her bubbly personality and love for writing emanated through the room and you caught the good vibes. You listened to her speak intently and when it came to the Q&A session, the moderator picked the question you entered on the board because so many others bumped it up. After the seminar, you left the chat feeling so inspired, happy and armed with more tools to get your song writing career started. You feel on top of the world. You feel like you can conquer anything that comes your way.

How you experience the world depends on your perspective. A simple change in belief can change an outcome or even the entire trajectory of your life. The most beautiful things in life happen when you least expect them because you’ve set zero expectations from the get-go and allow yourself to fully immerse in it with no judgement or criticism. How can we put a price on such feelings of joy, inspiration, happiness and excitement? Was it worth it? Of course, it was! But would you have known if you hadn’t tried it? The worst that could happen is that it was a good lesson to teach you something new about yourself.