Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
THINK OUT OF THE BOX
To think out of the box is to think differently, unconventionally, and from new perspectives. You are not limited to thinking in terms of black and white. There are grey areas in between. Better options exist. And thinking out of the box will lead you to these better options. For instance, if someone says something hurting to us, we tend to become angry and quarrel with the person responsible. We sometimes feel that if we do not react to the insult, it shows cowardice, while fighting back would be considered brave.
But this is the result of wrong thinking. The truth is that in this situation, there is a better option—the way of avoidance. Instead of wasting your time being provoked into fighting, you should stick to the path of positive action and avoid negative action. There is a saying that illustrates this better option—“Dogs may bark, but the elephant goes on”.original + quote
This is not just a matter of morality. It is in fact an important part of life’s reality. There are different types of people in this world. That is why we are confronted with unpleasant experiences. If we are provoked by every unpleasant experience, we will fail to devote ourselves to any worthwhile goal. Time and resources in this world are limited. We cannot afford to spend these precious things on ‘teaching someone a lesson’, or on retaliation, or other such negative actions. The price we pay for these futile engagements is our own progress and development.