Composed or Cool !!
by S.P. Kachru
Composure complimented with
charm, would even in our day
and age, be an effective remedy
against outbreaks of
uncontrolled temper, which place
relationships under
unnecessary additional
strain. Inappropriate
behaviour, making a
mountain out of a molehill,
dogmatic intolerance – when such characteristics become
fixtures of the individual
makeup, then we must agree
that such behaviour be
interpreted as a sign of an
inferiority complex.
On the other hand, a
lack of balance may just as
well indicate under
developed self-restraint, a
deficiency which can
effectively be countered by
the strength of conviction
that one who can reign or
control his desires, passions
or fears, is greater than a
king, for, he fortifies himself
in moderation against an
impregnable fortress called
Self.
Almost essential
element in the promotion
of one’s composure, indeed a pre-requisite for its
existence, must surely be
the measure of cultivation
enjoyed by an individual. A higher
level of culture and knowledge must
assuredly lead to an ability of taking
a step back, to find
an objective distance
and confront a problem
without anger or excess
zeal. Are we not thus
getting close
to the real
meaning of the
fashionable accolade 'Cool'?
Comparison is difficult
because the word cool has
taken on a variety of
meanings, with at least two
mutually incompatible sets of
content. On one hand, Cool
may be understood to
indicate a certain degree of
composure in encountering
new objects, conditions or
events. The aim is, though,
probably an attitude of
casual, nonchalance or some
degree of emotional
detachment but hardly the
factors contributing to
composure in its traditional
sense. Similarly, Cool may on
the other hand even express
a certain reluctance to exert
oneself. Does this type of
Coolness not also accentuate
a certain rejection of the
overwhelming hustle of a
virtual world that promises
everything but totally lacks
any substance, the glitter
that blinds us to a
deteriorating quality of life ?
When young people call someone
or something 'Cool', one must assume
that they usually mean it in a sense
of acknowledgement, admiration or
affirmation. The long accepted 'Super'
seems to have relinquished to 'Cool' as
an adjective of praise. This kind of
ovation is, nonetheless, a pleasant
change from the bombastic jubilation
that seems to accompany the most
mediocre of events.
Similarly, the slogan of Lifelong
learning loses none of it’s validity simply because it is overused by bodies, which
actually despise it. No wonder then a
strong belief in the co-relation between
learning & self-restraint concisely for
the growth in one’s wisdom, one’s prudence may be reliably gauged from
the decline of one’s ill temper. Are we therefore, on the right road,
be it Composed or Cool ? Such learning
can ultimately bring about, what is
described as ‘Civility’. We need many terms to describe this attribute: Refined
Deportment, Good Manners,
Composure, Poise etc., in short,
Civilised Behaviour.
And all of that can be ours, free
of charge, if only we believe that
Civility costs nothing but gains for us
many things in many ways.
Source: Milchar
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