ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER

People often boast about their past accomplishments, strengths, helping nature and many other impressive qualities. But a person, who actually transforms his words to actions at the times when it is needed the most, is the one who earns respect. Above him is the one who without even promising anything or boasting about himself does wonders for the society or reaches an apex that others had dreamt of conquering.

An infant does not learn by what is said to him, but by what he observes. He cannot understand what others try to convey through words but grasps from other’s gestures. He becomes what he sees around. As he grows, he learns from his father’s attitude towards life, home, work, family and friends. No matter how many moral stories you recite to him, he would develop his own principles by learning what people around him do. If you want him to work hard for his studies, his future, you need to create such an environment in the house where he can realize the truth about life. Scolding and beating won’t be fruitful. Hypocrisy and dishonesty must be avoided by parents if they want their child to live an ideal life

It is not that words help a person earn respect in the society. His dedication and hard work to accomplish them is what that really matters. It is human nature to strive for a higher position; a position where others pay tribute to one’s name. This he achieves not through his words but by acting to his words and transforming the world into a better habitat. Some people tend to make castles in air which neither have a strong foundation nor are the efforts put in such as to sustain the castle. Great dreams not backed by undaunted determination and selfless hard work are just figments of imagination and can never be transformed to startling realities.

Sometimes when we can’t use words by any cause, actions help us communicate with other people. In other cases, even if we can have a communication with others, actions make it clearer. When a baby is hungry, sleepy or wants to play together, he tries to tell her mother who understands his gestures and deals with the request accordingly. Also in between those who do not speak the same language, actions break the barriers and play a rescuer. For instance, in Japan, when people request something or apologize for a mistake, they bow with both their hands stuck together.

A person’s actions define him. They are a mirror to his motives. He might speak something, but what he does defines his purpose. Once Mahatma Gandhi said,”What is faith worth, if it is not translated to actions”. Gone are the days when our leaders were men of their words. The people in power preached ‘Jaan jaye par vachan na jaaye’. Nowadays, the politicians and the bureaucrats promise a lot to the public but do not fulfill even five percent of their demands. Our freedom fighters took a stand and proved their worth by fighting till their last breathe. The leaders today make promises but once the elections are over, they abscond from their responsibilities. The politicians keep giving speeches for hours but fail to deliver when they need to prove their mettle. For such people only sayings such as ‘Naam bade, darshan chote’ were invented.

In today’s world, the practical aspects of life weigh more than the theoretical ones. To overcome the obstacles in life a person must strive not to waste his precious time on unnecessary preaching. In other words, he must be a man of actions in order to succeed in life. Many great personalities have put into practice what their conscience told them to do and have acted according to their beliefs. Precious times must be converted to moments of action for real success. Idle talk will lead one nowhere. In our dynamic world, success and happiness depend on actions, not on theory on empty words.

Today every individual talks about saving energy and minimizing pollution. Surely it is the need of this hour. But do we in reality do anything to accomplish it? Unnecessarily we keep the lights on; use less of public vehicles because we think that using them reduces our status; loiter on the streets, burn crackers, waste portable water and indiscriminately cut forests to provide space for continuously growing population. Only thinking and discussing about preserving the nature won’t serve the purpose, we’ll have to take certain steps which can help reduce the harmful impacts on the environment. People should start consuming as per their needs and stop activities that lead to environmental pollution.

Mahatma Gandhi once quoted,” an ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching”. His name stands in front of us as one of the prime examples of the title ‘Actions speak louder than words’. He managed to drive the British Empire, which exploited his country for more than a century, by using simple non-violent approaches. He acted according to what he preached. He would let the soldiers attack him and his followers and threatened to starve until death if the violence didn’t stop. He never left his path of non-violence. His actions did pay off and today we see India as an independent nation.

Buddhist monk Sumangalo said,” Good words are not enough, you should do good deeds and that’s how you come to be respected”. When we speak of action, we always mean making sure that our conduct, behavior and all our deeds are such that each act benefits one or the other. Among the Tamils of India, there is a legend about a holy man who became known all over India as a teacher and preacher. Thousands of pilgrims came to learn from him. He showed kindness to all, regardless of rank. The goodness of his heart was shown by his actions. Everyone who came to visit their great and holy teacher went away feeling that he had received deep instructions. Yet this great teacher had never in his life been able to utter a single word. He was born dumb.

Life is too busy and one might find difficult to take out time from his busy schedule and work for the promises he made to himself or to others. Only talking about something or someone doesn’t show your care. Some people pretend to be health conscious and every night swear to themselves to get up early next morning for jog and yoga but fail to do so due to their laziness. They never exercise, just keep on worrying about their increasing weight but do not act accordingly. Some people promise their friends lifelong support and assure them of any kind of help but when it comes to show their care, they fail to deliver the goods.

What is noticeable about the achievements of the great personalities is that they always dreamt big but never boasted about achieving something big even though they were highly capable of doing much more than they dreamt of. These eminent personalities were aware of their caliber but never considered themselves superior to others. They just kept on doing their job and served the world. Don’t just say that you’ll change the world, do your part and success will ultimately follow. If you are determined to bring about a change, your efforts are bound to be recognized.