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questions, your inquiries. They are mind things. they don't come from your heart, they are not related to you, they have no roots in you.
It is related in George Bernard Shaw's life that once, at the opening of one of his plays, he stepped forward at its conclusion with obvious complaisance, to accept the rousing plaudits of the crowd. There was one dissenter, however, who seized the occasion of a lull in the applause to call out in stentorian tones, 'Your play stinks!'
There was a momentary horrified silence, but Shaw, unperturbed, exclaimed from the stage, 'My friend, I agree with you completely, but what are we two' -- here he waved his hand over the audience -- 'against the great majority?'
And applause returned more loudly than ever.
You cannot prepare something like that, it is impossible It is a spontaneous response -- hence the beauty of it. You cannot prepare for such things. And life is such a continuous thing: either you act or you miss. Later on, you will find a thousand and one answers -- you could have said this, you could have said that -- but they are of no use.
Mark Twain was coming back home with his wife from a lecture hall. He had just delivered a beautiful talk. His wife had not been present, she had just come to pick him up.
On the way she asked, 'How was the lecture?'
Mark Twain said, 'Which one? The one that I prepared, or the one that I delivered, or the one that I am thinking now that I should have delivered? Which one?'
If you prepare, this is going to be so. Remain conscious, alert, aware, and act out of your spontaneity. And not only will others see the alive response of it, you also will be thrilled by your own response. Not only will others be surprised, you will also be surprised yourself.
I call a mind mature which retains the capacity to be surprised. A mind is mature if it goes on continuously being surprised. by others, by himself, by everything. Life is a constant wonder: he has no ready-made plans or ready-made responses for it, he never knows what is going to happen, he moves into the unknown each moment. And he never jumps ahead of himself, he never lags
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