ATTITUDE and LUCK

ATTITUDE and LUCK
THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY 
By 
VIKRAM KARVE 



“The map is not the territory...!” 

What does this mean...? 

Liehtse’s famous parable of The Old Man at the Fort is perhaps apt to illustrate this concept:- 

An Old Man was living with his Son at an abandoned fort on the top of a hill, and one day he lost a horse. 

The neighbours came to express their sympathy for this misfortune, but the Old Man asked, “How do you know this bad luck? The fact is that one horse is missing and there is one horse less in the stables. That is the fact. Whether it is good luck or bad luck – well that is a matter of judgment.” 

A few days afterwards, his horse returned with a number of wild horses, and his neighbours came again to congratulate him on this stroke of fortune, and the Old Man replied, “How do you know this is good luck? The fact is that there are more horses in my stable than before. Whether it is good luck or bad luck – well that is a matter of opinion.” 

With so many horses around, his son began to take to riding, and one day while riding a wild horse he was thrown off and broke his leg. Again the neighbours came around to express their sympathy, and the Old Man replied, “How do you know this is bad luck?” 

A few days later a war broke out and all the able bodied men were forcibly conscripted into the army, sent to the warfront to fight and most of them were killed. 

Because the Old Man’s son had a broken leg he did not have to go to the war front and his life was saved and everyone in the village who had lost their sons in the war were envious at the Old Man’s good fortune, but this time they did not say anything to the Old Man as they knew what his response would be. 

This parable drives home the lesson that there are no such things like good luck and bad luck. 

What disturbs you are not events but your attitude towards them. 

You must learn to distinguish between facts and your attitude or judgment towards those facts. 

It’s all in the mind. 

Facts are like territory – ground reality. 

But the way you interpret or judge those facts, your attitude towards them, depends on your mental map. 

This mental map is formed due to your values, beliefs and experiences and you tend to view the actual facts or events (territory) through mental filters based on your values, beliefs, biases, prejudices and experiences which form your mental map. 

Remember, just like the actual physical geographical territory exists on the ground and its map is drawn on paper, actual facts and events happen in reality and each one of us interprets them depending on the different maps prevalent in our minds. 

Events, by themselves, don’t hurt you. 

It is your attitudes and responses (due to your mental maps) to those events that disturb you and give you trouble. 

It then becomes your paramount duty to introspect and continuously redesign your mental maps to develop the correct attitude and responses towards external events. 

When something happens the only thing in your power is your attitude towards it. 

We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them. 

The secret of inner calm resides within you. 

You just have to develop the proper mental “maps” and the correct attitude in your mind, so that you are not disturbed by the vicissitudes of external events which are akin to the outside “territory”. 

Remember - “ THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY”.

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com         
vikramkarve@gmail.com

Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
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© vikram karve., all rights reserved.