Two years….
Two years working at the SPIT Alumni Network.
Long, long, long, long, long time.
Long enough to move across floors. Long enough to stay in rooms. Long enough to come early in the morning and stay late into the night. Long enough to see the sunrise and the sunset from the same place.
I have been around.
I won’t say I have explored everything. I haven’t.
But I have seen a range of things happen.
And perhaps that is what two years gives you.
Not answers.
Just enough time to see that there are many sides to the same thing.
Being on the other side, I had seen one kind of world.
Being on this side, I saw a very different kind of world.
And seeing that kind of world is interesting.
We fail to see things beyond what we experience.
We look at people and think they have a responsibility to do something. And yes, they do have a responsibility. I wouldn’t exaggerate on that part.
But sometimes we think they should do more.
And somewhere, we feel entitled to more.
Sometimes we look back at our own choices and feel that they were shaped by people who were part of the system. We think they could have changed things. They could have made things better. They could have made our lives beautiful in so many ways.
And then we think, nobody did it.
It is easy to stop there.
But when you look at their own responsibilities, you begin to see something else.
They have a different set of duties.
Somewhere, they have to hold the past.
They have to be with the present.
They have to support the future that is currently being built, currently being envisioned.
And when you have all of that, somewhere you do only what you can.
It takes a lot to do beyond.
It takes a lot beyond.
You have to sacrifice your time. There is only so much that can be paid for. To do something extraordinary, even when you have the interest, requires you to push out your time and energy and do something extraordinary.
Sometimes ordinary things happen through extraordinary efforts.
I remember the movie The Intern.
There is a pile of books or something kept on a table, and nobody feels that it should be cleaned.
That doesn’t mean they are irresponsible.
Everybody is simply so tied up with what they are doing.
To do something beyond takes energy, time, effort.
And if they give it there, it takes that same energy, time and effort away from their main job.
And perhaps that is where people hold back.
Not because they are not willing to.
But because they feel they won’t give justice to something that is being paid for, something that is being asked for.
There is only so much that a person can do.
There is a responsibility of the present.
There is a responsibility of the past.
There is a responsibility of the future.
And you cannot simply trade that for something shiny, interesting, fantastic.
When you look at it this way, some of our disagreements begin to fade.
Because you are no longer looking at right or wrong.
You are looking at things as they are.
Every day, when I try to look back at what is important to me, I face two choices.
Either I decide to give more than what is my capacity.
Or I look at it and say, this is not my part of the job.
This is not what I am supposed to do.
I can look around and see that somebody is not doing their part.
Somebody is just not doing things right.
Or I can look at what I need to do to get these things done.
And somewhere, I have started looking at people differently.
Not in the purview of, they do not want to cooperate.
But in the purview of, what limits them?
And then, how do I make sure that I arrive at a point where I am able to do what is needed while understanding what limits them?
And slowly, I began to see what that limit actually was.
People are not pretending.
They are not pretending to care and secretly not caring.
They come from a space of self-defense.
Protecting their family.
Protecting themselves.
Everything else comes close second.
It is easy to forget that.
It is easy to stand somewhere and feel a difference, and put that feeling on someone.
But that would not be a true reflection.
Because people do not lack intentions.
Neither do they lack capability.
They just lack time.
They are not always able to be there.
To be present.
To freely give 100 percent to what is to be done.
Some work requires you to be present around it.
You cannot just expect it to happen.
You have to make it happen.
You have to be present around it.
You have to watch where it dips, and then you hold it there.
You have to watch where it rises, and then you admire it there.
You have to talk about it.
You have to be there and see how things are.
And that is why it is important to be present at the junction where things are happening.
At the place where things are happening.
If you are not there, you are not able to feel how things are moving.
You only see bits and parts.
Sometimes it excites you.
Sometimes it disappoints you.
But when you are right at the heart of it, every day you look at things and you see that there is so much to do.
And then you realise why things are moving at that pace.
It gives you a purpose to solve.
It doesn’t give you a limitation to feel obstructed by and then feel upset about.
It gives you something to solve.
Some place that you should address.
When you are at the heart of it, it gives you solutions to address.
When you are far from it, you just see a very vague wall that exists.
And perhaps that is what these two years have done.
I have moved across floors.
I have stayed in rooms.
I have come early morning.
I have stayed late night.
I have seen the sunrise.
I have seen the sunset.
I have been around.
And I have seen that this place does not lack willingness to do.
It just requires more hands to take this step forward.
There is so much that two hands can do.
There is so much that two feet can move around.
There is so much that you can pay attention to and give your heart and soul to.
But there is only so much that you can solve for.
Only so much that you can be around for.
And if you are looking to do something, to build for the future, it requires more minds to come forward.
Growth is often labelled as something that has to be fast.
Growth is hardly seen as something that needs to be moving at a required pace.
Growth does not and should not mean speed.
Growth is not equal to speed.
When you are growing up as a child, you are not really moving fast.
Every year, you move to one standard.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
Then you learn karate.
Then you learn sports.
Then you learn a language.
Then another language.
Then a subject.
Then another subject.
Then contests.
And that’s how you blossom.
By the twelfth standard, you have gained so much ability, so much knowledge, that naturally, when you move out, you have so much to offer.
The same thing is with a network.
When there are more people there, they will give ideas.
They will give solutions.
They will post things.
They will do things.
And then you start seeing something.
Suddenly, it is like a grown-up person who is now being useful to everybody.
Sometimes you look back and somebody says,
“Oh, but this is not like this right now.
Look at this.
This is so fantastic.”
And I always think that it is there because somebody once stared at a point when it was just a seed.
Right now, this is also a seed.
It is a seed that has to sprout.
And then, with the help of everyone, it will sprout into a very beautiful tree.
There are two ways it can happen.
It can be placed in the right place, at the right time.
And then it naturally grows faster.
There are more people taking care of things.
Somebody moves it to the right shade.
Somebody brings the right manure.
Somebody puts water at the right time.
Somebody is simply present.
And a few people sometimes hit and miss.
They water the plant, but they are not able to put the manure in time.
And perhaps that is okay too.
Because when all the elements come together, you will see it blossom.
It will give fruits.
It can become so fragrant that everyone wants to be around it.
That is how a network is.
It is like a big tree where everyone wants to take shade.
Come inside and take shade.
Enjoy the fruits.
Enjoy the fragrance around it.
Right now, it is like a nice small tree.
Capable of becoming that kind of tree which is full of shade, full of fruits, and full of fragrance.
It has the capability.
No doubt it does.
I am hundred percent sure of it.
It has the capability.
And whenever we have more hands, whenever we have more minds coming up, you will see it blossom.
And when it blossoms, it will attract everyone around it.
Everyone will want to be with it.
But there is something else I have realised.
People are rarely at fault.
The systems are how they are designed.
If a system is designed to do only something limited, but the future requires a very different version of the system to exist, then you are fighting with the present design for a beautiful future.
Only a few individuals are able to really move beyond that dilemma.
They have the capacity.
Their family supports them.
Their situations support them.
Or they are simply letting go of their comforts because they feel they can contribute something.
They are not looking for more.
They are looking to play their part.
Something interesting.
Because the act itself is satisfying.
And maybe that is what I keep coming back to.
There is so much that two hands can do.
But there is so much more that can happen when more hands come forward.
There is so much that one mind can see.
But there is so much more that can be seen when more minds come forward.
There is so much that one person can care for.
But there is only so much that one person can be around for.
And perhaps growth is not about how fast something moves.
Perhaps growth is about whether it is becoming capable.
Whether it is gathering enough people.
Enough ideas.
Enough experiences.
Enough hands.
Enough minds.
Enough care.
Enough presence.
Enough patience.
Until one day, without really knowing exactly when it happened, the small tree is no longer small.
And people come to it.
They take shade.
They enjoy the fruits.
They enjoy the fragrance.
They bring someone else.
And they want to be a part.
Just part of.
Maybe that is what this is right now.
A small tree.
Capable of being the big one.
And maybe that is enough.
Because someone has to look at a small tree and see the big one it can become.
Someone has to water it.
Someone has to move it to the shade.
Someone has to bring the manure.
Someone has to be there.
And perhaps, with more hands and more minds, it will grow.
And then it will blossom.
And then everyone will see what was there all along.