Importance of a Progressive Environment

"Surroundings can help a person grow or stoop"

I believe that the environment of an individual plays an important role in his/her growing process. Just as a tiger’s behavior depends on whether it is born in a forest or a zoo, humans’ behavior is also directly proportional to the environment they lived in. For instance, a tiger is supposed to be a vicious apex predator. This criterion is fulfilled by many tigers living in a forest but not the tigers born and brought in a zoo. In a zoo, it hardly knows how to hunt.

Remember the incident from the Delhi Zoo, when a man fell into tiger enclosure. It did not hurt him until the onlookers throwing stones at him to shoo him away. Only after the attack by the audience, it grabbed the neck of the man and went towards its den. Many articles claim that ‘grabbing the neck’ was an attack but I think it was not. The tiger never knew how to hunt. Moreover, this is how they carry their cubs as well. The basic instinct was to save the man from the stones and take him to a safer place.

The case of humans is also similar. The thought process of an individual develops with respect to the environment. Many educated people still think that females are meant to bear children and look after the household only. Many educated people still think that it is necessary to have an heir to the family (son). You must have noted that these are literate people I am talking about. Even after education and information, they still think this way, why? These thoughts cannot be in their mind since birth. Such thoughts arise from the surroundings we live in.

                                        

For instance, few men or women may have seen their fathers dominating or were violent against their mothers and they believed it to be normal. Since, it is normal for them, they find it contradicting to raise voice against it. We all have read or heard it somewhere that few parents often declare that, “it is okay if your husband hit you once in a while for something you have done wrong”. The movie ‘Thapad’ is voicing this issue on a bigger scale. Whereas few parents do not want their daughter to deal with it at all and encourage them to report it as it is a crime by law.

Another example could be that my grandfather is an avid reader. I have grown up observing him reading newspaper and books every day. He even makes notes and store important cutouts from the newspaper. Since, I have always admired his hobbies, I have also grown up reading a lot. If I am not reading a book, I feel empty. The day I realized that I am unknowingly following him, I knew the importance of an environment.

Humans have an advantage over animals, advantage of intelligence. I know dolphins are much more intelligent than we are. But since the tiger in the zoo, could not save the man even after helping in his way, humans can help by analysis. If you have watched 2 states, Arjun Kapoor could have been like his father, arrogant and violent, but he chose not to. He chose to be the opposite of what his father was. The act of choosing and analyzing of what is wrong, is one of the powers of our mind. The child who thought domestic violence is normal might have felt terrible when it happened to his/her mother. He/ she could have chosen to raise their voice and realized that it is not acceptable.

(Click here or on 'act of choosing' to know more)

Undoubtedly, surroundings can help a person grow or stoop. But free will also plays a part where one can set their thought process to a certain track. On this track, you can analyze a situation and react to it from a perspective of your own. I understand, this is difficult for a little kid, but when you grow up try to leave behind the traditional thinking and adapt new ways.