Since my childhood I have been a very sincere child and follow instructions very well.
No wonder then that I was given to do many of the chores around the house :-) (familiar?)
One of the chores was to get 'Coffee powder' ground by the local retailer. As with many south Indian household we brew our own coffee with the fresh ground powder (we don't like it the 'instant' way!)
The instruction was very clear 'Pea berry' and 'Plantation' mix 50% each!!
It never dawned on me to ask a very crucial question, until yesterday when my retailer said to me that he has only 'Pea berry' and not the other one! And returned home empty handed!
The crucial question was what do these 2 damn technical terms mean and what difference does it make if I don't have one of them !? Were these a matter of choice or ignorance on how many varieties of coffee is actually available?
The bigger question relevant for us is
Are we doing certain things (& like it!) just because someone else had done it before?
Does this restrict our thought process & hence our progress?
Do share any of your 'Peaberry Plantation' story.
Ciao
Raju
Haha, nice thoughts buddy! I didn't had to deal with this dillemma as we always were pure coffee drinkers :-)
ReplyDeleteBtw, it must be something to do with strongness (and hence bitterness) of one seed compared to the other one.
Like everything in life we need to strike a balance, right?
Conditioning is a pattern of thought which makes us to conform. This was the easiest way for the elders to control us because they themselves did not know. This leads to lack of intelligence. Even today though we know this intellectually we perpetuate this onto the younger. We use authority to get others to conform, conformance leads to fear, fear leads to lack of intelligence. So go buy the blend of coffee that is right for you - so what if it is 100% Peaberry - lets be open to shades of grey !
ReplyDelete@Srikant - I do not know! and that is the point!!
ReplyDelete@Sunder - Yes, it is how we grow up. However, this conditioning continues in the professional lives as well. We are unable to challenge authority.
All our Processes stop us from asking the crucial question - 'Why?'
Reminds me of the 'Monkey Paradigm' example, Raju! The key point being how we end up doing what others are doing without questioning..
ReplyDeleteVery correct Archana.
DeleteSimple observation but a profound one Raju....there are many such conditionings within each of us. The real learning is to grow out of them. Otherwise we will be blindly participating in an eternal grind.....don't know that is really good or bad though.
ReplyDeleteWe can grow out of it - if - we are open to change.
DeleteThanks Sridhar.
Raju,Absolutely correct. Dogma is the single biggest constraint to Change and questioning status quo. We are slaves to it right from our childhood. It begins at home, reinforced at school and carries right through our lives..into work too. Don't we in some sense perpetuate that with our children as well?
ReplyDeleteRealising that is the first step to change. Thanks for bringing it up for pondering.
Incidentally the tradition at my grandmother's house was for asking for a specific proportion of Chicory to the coffee. After years of drinking that blend, we realised that Chicory was an additive which did nothing to the flavour or consistency. It was just that an additive which continued to be added without anyone questioning it. It took a child (my young cousin) to ask what is and why we add Chicory that led to a search for the answer to that 20-30 year old tradition!
Thats where Ignorance comes - we fear that we will reveal our ignorance! and hence it doesn't get challenged...
DeleteThanks Aruna!