Life is problems and living is solving problems. It is a universal truth that follows in principle and in practice.
With discipline and commitment, we streamline the mess that most of us begin our lives with. All of us are born weak and bleak under the umbrella of uncertainties, without entitlement to education, earning and progress.
As we grow from feeble to finite, our eyes open to the horizons across day and night. We develop tendencies, we pursue certain dreams. We attempt, we achieve, we strive, we succeed.
We experience another principle of life; nothing succeeds like success. It may not be wholesome but it is a good chunk, appreciable and enjoyable.
As we work hard, the unseen unfolds to us with great beauty. The distant dreams come close as tangible realities. History is full of inspirations and full of glory.
We see Abraham Lincoln reading under streetlights and becoming the American president, an Ambani riding a bicycle and building a business empire, a woman winning two Noble prizes, an illiterate holding a patent, a dog Laika as the first ever to land on moon, a disadvantaged child cracking a hardcore competition, a physically wreck winning a race, crossing a mighty river or conquering a mountain peak. Most of it would seem next to impossible.
In my school I had learnt that even the word impossible says, I’m possible. The most common blood group among the people of our country is B+. So, to be positive, is also our interior design.
In this world full of possibilities, suicides should stoop to zero and hope should rise to infinity. Stephen Hawking in 1963, was detected with motor neuron disease with a 2-year ultimatum to death, yet he went on to do PhD, get married, have three kids and explore various secrets of the universe. He lived long and remained elusive to death until quite recently.
Hope is a renewable option. If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning. It serves at least to lead us to the end of our lives by an agreeable route.
However, we at our place have taken a wrong route to life. We are wronged by a series of things, latest by drug abuse. What brought our youngsters to drug and debauchery.
What went wrong with our making of minds. Why are we grooming bad guys.
With money and material, comfort and care and all sorts of provisions better than ever before why don’t they have a scheme to sort life. Why are their lives so full of emotion, drama and tragedy.
Why are they so delicate and brittle. Why this much of debit and debacle. Why could you not hold and handle them. Instead, why should they always hold to twitter-handle.
I am not a sermoniser to bring them to sense of guilt nor a doctor to caution them of their physical and mental health. I want the parents to come in please. I say this with genuine concern and absolutely no offence to the way you are bringing up your children.
Let your girls cut the hair short and the boys grow them long. Let your daughters smoke and your sons soot. Let your baby dolls dive and your guys graze wild. Let them add all flavours to their friendships.
Let them be trending on tik-tok. Let them do all sorts of fun; physical, chemical and biological. But make me understand, how does this uplift them in life.
Now for God’s sake, don’t tell me that Americans do the same. For your kind information, they don’t do. Theirs was a well-known TV show ‘Dance moms’ which received wide criticism wherein dancing was held exploitative of little girls.
Moreover, there is a scientific base that the natural impulse to dance may have existed in early primates before they evolved into humans. We are a refined version by now.
Despite N number of boys in our educational institutions why can’t we have a dance program with them but always with little girls. Why do we choose them only for amusement. Why can’t the boys rock the stage, the chocolaty boys, the pizza boy, the pastry boys.
By the way, the Jews give dates to their children in place of chocolates. Although they make up less than 1 percent of the world’s population, they constitute 170 of 850 Nobel Prize winners, 21 percent of Ivy League students, 37 percent of Academy Award-winning directors and 51 percent of Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction.
They still do well with most of their religious obligations as circumcision, growing beard, wearing hat and reading Torah and Talmud. They are the original, we the artificial. They are the sample, we the copy without copyright. We are not even doing a judicious imitation. One of the four secrets of Jewish parenting is that they promote geekiness in their children while as we can’t do without making them a brand.
Keep giving loose rope to your children but remember your freedom ends where my nose begins. I have a personal concern. I am afraid that your children may spoil my children.
I am deeply worried. I can go to any extent to save my progeny from pollution. You are staking my present; you are staking my future. Do make a response. I hope I have not offended you to the extent you deserve.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.