Our parents lied to us.
Like all of our parents told us of the men they thought were great, Martin Luther King, Gandhi etc. But our attempts to emulate them-boycotting tests due to unfairness of the teachers, talking back because we genuinely think authorities are unfair, unwillingness to pay a fine because it seems to be a bribe instead of accepting due punishment for having cheated - have always been unappreciated. My parents scolded me saying “you don’t have to be the hero”….well then why did you tell me about these greats and why tell me that this is your idea of “uprightness”…why show me a world of honesty and then demand to know why I had to try and be a hero.
Another lie-The lesson of the Scrabble game.
My parents played scrabble with us, back in the impressionable years. There was one rule to the game (apart from The rules of the game), and it was-don’t overthink, don’t save up your letters for a later moment…jus play, make your move. And well, for most of my years that has been the life lesson I lived by…don’t over think things, make your move and make your peace with it, just play the game. Now they ask me what my plans for my future are, where I intend to be, what I intend to be. Ofcourse, the simplicity of it is that my plans are always subject to a million contingencies but for NOW-my plan will give me security, the (hopeful) knowledge that I know whats coming next.
These are permissible hypocrisies I feel. Things parents are allowed to say and then unsay, because they help you. They help me. I still choose to live by the lesson of the Scrabble. And I will always try to be a hero.
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