Some "Perspective", My Child!

Some "Perspective", My Child!

A Monologue:

 What a parent might want to tell a child, but find it very difficult

My dear child!

You are a young teen, right?

Do you have a job? No, you don’t?  Ha! I knew that. So you don’t work help support your family, right?

Have you ever worked, earned and contributed to your family, until now? No? You have not?!! I see! I knew that already!

I see that you still have a lot of things you claim as your own – your own clothes, your own computer, your own room, shelves, jewellery, shoes, books, games, radio … Your room is chock-full of stuff. More stuff than you will ever use. You realise that all of it has been practically given to you, with some excuse of love – as a gift, as a ‘necessity’ or purchased with ‘your’ money, which itself was given to you under a pretext of pocket money, money for some simple chores or some occasion – Christmas, birthday, Easter, New Year…

You are fed, clothed and taken care of every day, right? You are given more than what you really, really need, right? You are given that with love, much love. You play tennis, learn to dance and have memberships on websites. They are all paid for, right? You are taken out for treats, eating out, movies, shopping for gifts for your friends’ birthdays, all paid for and done with love, right? Do you feel the love?

Do you think you are better off than the child of a refugee in a camp fleeing from persecution or violence in some part of the world?
Oh, You DO think you ARE better off? Good! I am happy you can see that!

Do you know that the father of that child in the refugee camp loves his child, just as much as your father loves you – not an iota less! That child’s real needs are not less than yours. Really! To survive and thrive, you both need exactly the same amount of food, clothes, shelter, care and love at a minimum.

The poor refugee father cannot provide even that minimum. Your father is able to do better. Can you see that? You do? Good!

Do you believe you should appreciate what you have and be thankful for that? And be happy? And be cheerful? And grateful that you are so much better off than hundreds of millions of children around the world?

Are you? Are you appreciative? Are you thankful, grateful, cheerful and happy? How do you show it? Do you show it to your parents?

Maybe your father is not so rich that he can provide all that you want. Maybe your friend’s parents are richer and give her more than you have. Maybe she has better clothes, fancier shoes or T-shirts, the newest electronic game and a better room, all to herself. Maybe you feel miserable when you compare yourself to her. Maybe you don’t feel like sharing something of yours with your own parents or siblings at home, because you feel it belongs to you and you should have absolute control over it.

Are you miserable? Are you sad? Do you feel like sharing or not sharing with others?

There is so much your parents want to do for you and to give you. There is really no end to what all they would give you if they could. They would grant your every wish, almost.

But do you know what they MOST wish to give you? What they would rather give you even if they had very little? Or what they would like to give you especially if you had a LOT of stuff?

My dear child, the following is what your parents would most like to give you:

-          They would like to give you a sense of appreciation and gratitude for what you have.

-          They would like to give you sense of grace to accept that they cannot give you everything you like and that you may never have all that you desire in life.

-          They would like to give you a perspective in life so that you can still share what you have with others willingly, with grace and good cheer.

-          They would like to give you the maturity of not being upset when they ask you to do with less than you would like.

-          They would like to give you their best and most unconditional love! Sometimes, that means giving you a perspective in life so that you become a better person and free yourself from a lot of avoidable misery.

Do you feel the love, my child? Do you feel it? Don’t be miserable, be happy!



Copyright  (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2014

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