If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too… (Rudyard Kipling)

There is something unnerving about poetry. If you don't understand it, it is just words. But if you are of those few who enjoy metaphors, it has the power to tickle your mind and enrich your soul. A fine specimen of such words is If by Rudyard Kipling. All you need is the mind to read beyond the syntax and the words will tear down the walls of your heart.

Does this looking beyond syntax happen in mundane and non-poetic situations too? Do we ever read the feelings behind the words that spout out of our mouths? Mostly no. We are beings of syntax; we dwell in the words and mere words alone. You'd believe this if you count the number of times you've felt sad or reacted immediately on a comment made by a friend or family. Though you realized the true meaning and the feelings behind the words later, for that moment you lived in the words. A harsh comment by your friend makes you cry, a snide remark by your lover makes you sulk. A politician's casual comment will get all the angry men howling while a celebrity author's loose words are condemned as blasphemy. Yes, we indeed live in a world of only words.

 Most of the time, it is increasingly difficult to think beyond the wreath of words. We attach our emotions, our fears and our anxiety to the words we hear. They are dipped in the colors of our own perceptions before they reach our ears. Anything and everything we listen to is a connotation of our deepest underlying apprehensions. We fret, sulk and ponder over imaginary meanings we attach to the words over and over again when all it takes is thinking straight. Thinking beyond the syntax is not an easy task to do. When the words seem like cold daggers or ice picks, emotions are bound to flow. As humans we accept sarcastic compliments far better than genuine criticism. Criticism takes courage to acknowledge and overwhelming strength to accept. Most of us have natural filters for hurtful comments and it is way easier to be mad at a person than to be reasonable and not take the words at face value.  

It takes certain strength of character to keep your calm and accept the words rationally. Then think about the real intention and figure out if the meaning we attached to the words resonates with the intention. In many instances, it won't because as humans we are creatures bound by our irrationality and emotions. But again as humans, we learn from our mistakes and we are blessed with a kind heart that can love infinitely. I believe our ability to love and have a heart is what differentiates us from others in the animal kingdom rather the brain's function of comprehending complexity. To look beyond the syntax is a tough promise to keep, but for some people in your life, I am sure, it is worth all the patience needed.