We recently came back from another fun filled holiday to Corfu with Anvi and family. As always I was tempted to write about the holiday myself but I've managed to 'outsource' the responsibility to you this time! You've already written four sheets and I've got to say, I’m impressed. It is quite refreshing to read and realise what was more important from your perspective. We’ve just got a book for you to stick your notes on with some pictures from the trip. So at some point I'll be able to post here the unadulterated version of your own experiences.
We do have own chats and catch-ups where I try and understand what's going on in that little but immensely expansive canvas of your mind. We are back to our afternoon walks with Sky where we get ample time for you to tell me all about your friends at school, your teachers and everything else.
We have found a new path and a new field this season. It goes through a green grassy patch (you think it looks like artificial grass as its so dark green and proper) and goes on to meet an overground pedestrian train crossing. So the three of us leisurely walk along the path with you and Sky running off into the overgrown grass field now and again.
You are generally capable of keeping yourself entertained, singing your
own made up songs, chatting with Sky, flies or even little flowers around us – happy in the moment and living it up. Once we get to the little pedestrian bridge you want to stand right above the passing train, positioning yourself over the track, trying to feel the full thrill with the feverishly trembling wooden bridge.
We've recently come across a relatively slow moving freight train with a seemingly friendly driver, not averse to waving back at us. The plan is for us to keep trying and see if we can cultivate that into a regular gesture to be looked forward to.
Not a real surprise but I’m really glad that you are making progress with your reading and writing
skills at school. One of your books last week was the ‘Rainbow Machine’. It had a picture of 7 rainbow makers standing near a machine, apparently doing whatever rainbow making involves.
While reading the book, you pointed at one of the men talking to another and said "He looks like the most responsible person of the team." I was not expecting you to have any opinion on anyone’s responsibility level, let alone based on just a picture and hence was most curious to understand how could you have arrived at that conclusion.
When asked, you said-"Everyone seems to be doing something but he is just talking!." We joked a bit here and there and I tried to explain the concept of taking responsibility for the action of others and the challenges in that although I know its too early for you to appreciate the concept. But I am still surprised at your perception and interpretation of seeming inaction and its correlation to coming across as bearing responsibility.
As it turns out, every adult person with some work experience would at some point or the other in their workIng life arrive at the same conclusion about their managers - that they don’t do much besides just talking. As it turns out, apparently the trait is too obvious for your 5 year old mind too to pick up in today’s world.
Dear Daughter,
A 16 year old teenager called Greta Thunberg has picked up the mantle of challenging politicians
to do something substantial about the very likely, almost imminent emergency posed by
irreversible and catastrophic climate change. In doing so, she has point blank shot us all adults of all generations before her with a bullet of guilt, shaming us supposedly responsible, educated adults for our collective inaction. She has, without mincing her words, told us that time for dilly dallying and soul searching is over. In response, what are we, myself and people around us, doing about it?
Well, nothing. We are continuing with our regular, convenient consumption oriented existence.
The collective set of billions of people, never missing a beat to swear about our unconditional love for our children on one hand but totally ignorant of the kind of earth & climate we are on course or rather hellbent to leave for you, the same children.
There is no reason, just excuses for all of us to behave in this irresponsible manner. I always wondered what it would be like to live in an era of a real revolution like the Indian Independence struggle or the world war. Wouldn’t everyone just identify with the one right cause and just start fighting for it?
Now, I am starting to get a sense of it all. Turns out, Man is a really stupid animal. We are foolish enough to believe our own bias and lies. We sit tight, almost blissful in our ignorance to let the danger grow so its tangible and imminent.
And no at that mass level, we are not being responsible in our inaction, just arrogant as a species.
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