Papa Sun & Mama Sun

Perched in the front seat of the car, Sara was blabbering: "The sun is so nice. The sun is my friend. He is hiding behind the clouds. Clouds are white in color. Sun is yellow. Why is the Sun alone in the sky, Papa?  Where are Papa Sun and Mama Sun?"

Pre-occupied in my own train of thoughts, I said nonchalantly, "They are not there"

With a tinge of concern in her voice, she asked, "Papa, Why they are not there? Where have they gone?"

Without paying much attention, I replied, "They are just not there".

She looked at me, knitted her eyebrows and with her tiny hands she tried to turn my face towards her and with a chocking voice said, “Papa, papa...”

I realized, I had just shattered her world view. She lives is a world where it is a trio of everything. There is always a papa, a mama and a baby. If a pigeon or a sparrow hops on to the balcony, she will ask me where is the papa and the mama. If a pair of them is there, then she will ask where the baby is. If I draw a butterfly, she will ask me if that is the papa or the mama. If I say, it is a papa, and then she will ask me to draw a mama and then a baby butterfly. If I tell her a story of a baby tiger, she will ask where the papa and the mama tiger are. Her world is complete only if the 3 of them are there together. Anyone missing is just not done.

So, I said, "The papa and mama suns are there. But they are living far far away. They come only when baby sun calls for them."

Then her universe was at peace.

Friends, knowingly or unknowingly, everyone has their own world view. As per Wikipedia, a world view (or worldview) is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point of view. A world view can include natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and ethics.

Have you ever thought how your world view shapes your thinking and communication? Have you ever been cognizant of other's world view? Have you wondered how your world-view is shaped and changed based on new knowledge and new perspectives? Let me know.