Orders of magnitude

“It’s so easy. I can easily lift that”, boasted my son while watching weightlifting on TV.

While I loved his optimism, I wanted him to appreciate the magnitude of what the athletes were actually doing. “Do you know how heavy 150 kilograms is?”, I asked him. “Your little brother weights a little over 16 kilograms. Nine of him will just about make up 150 kilograms.”

“But I can easily lift my brother.”

“One of him, yes. But can you lift nine of him at the same time?”

He agreed that he couldn’t. But his imagination could capture it for posterity.

And be Inspired

Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Men and women who go beyond the realm of imagination. Who push themselves to the limit. Who prove that impossible is only just a word.

Talent yes. But years of hard-work. Of persistence. Of single minded dedication. Of dreaming a dream, and making it come true- or not.

Whether they win medals or our hearts, or both, the Olympians are a special breed. They are heros, and teach us that we can be too.

I no longer let my kids watch television, but the Olympics is another thing. They can watch all they want. And be inspired.

We'll do fine

I was expecting it, but when my younger one told me his class was going on an overnight camp, I was totally unprepared.

How would my little baby cope? Who would tuck him in at night; give him a kiss to keep the monsters away? How would he spend his first night away from home?

He had no such fears. He was excited. I hid my emotions from him.

On the way, his bravado collapsed. “But how will I sleep without you?”, he asked.

“My love will always be with you”, I reassured him.

He’ll do fine. We’ll do fine.

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The photograph is of Plop- the owl I made for my son to take to school with him.

The tool-box of a champion

Every-time we Indians sit down to analyse yet our dismal showing in the Olympics, we conclude by saying that Indians lack the “killer instinct”. Why else do our athletes “choke” in tight situations? Why else are they never able to put in that final race-winning effort?

But could an athlete who has fought an apathetic sports system, limited access to professional coaching, lack of equipment and nutrition, to make it to the world stage, have done it if they were mentally fragile?

It is their spirit that’s got them this far. What they lack is the tool-box of a champion.

The greatest gift

“But I can’t do it”, my son told me.

“Of course you can.” I didn’t particularly want him to jump off branch, but even less did I want him to walk away from a challenge he set for himself.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

He closed his eyes, pushed himself off, and landed perfectly on his feet.

“How did you know I could do it?”, he asked me much later.

“Because my parents taught me that if you believe you can do something, you can do it”, I told him.

The greatest gift a parent can give a child is self-belief.

All is forgiven

They drive me up the wall, with their incessant demands. Every word of mine is questioned, every direction flouted. They want to go down and play when they should be doing their homework, and remember their school assignment when we are sitting down to dinner. When I am trying to work, they are bored and need to be entertained, but the moment their bedtime is called, they remember the abridged chess game they were to have finished that day.

But when they finally go to bed and allow sleep to claim them, they look so angelic that all is forgiven.

To expect people to change

In many relationships, there comes a time when who a person is seems no longer enough. You want them to become who you expect them to be, and if they don’t, you are disappointed.

But is that fair on the other person? Would you be willing to change, against your will, if they want you to? 

Would you not grudge them the right to dictate who you are?

Why can’t we just accept people as they are? Because they matter to us only because we liked them, and if we liked them once, why should they now have to change? 

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Photograph also posted in Snapshots