Festivities and an integral part of our rich cultural Heritage. Today, as India celebrates Ashtami (the 8th day of the Navratra festivities), I’d like to express gratitude to the known God n Goddess Closer home; OUR PARENTS.
Those who’ve read my posts/articles before would surely notice how frequently I mention “The hand that rocks the cradle, Rules the world”. And I certainly live by this as one of the founding principles of my life.
Off late, I came across many a posts on how crisis/lockdown, led people (affluent business owners, influential leaders and more) to reach out to their parents back home. Suddenly, we’re talking and writing a lot about quality time with parents, patient listening, imbibing life skills…finally learning to respect the white hair,even over the grey (lessons from their life journeys, which cannot be taught in the best of universities), and more .Well.. I’d still congratulate them for they were fortunate on making it to them, after all, its never too late for good deeds.
But, Ironic isn’t it…it needed a crisis to reach back to the hands that rocked our cradle, to now give them an ear to listen, beyond universities…learn life lessons, begin to care for them, which much, should’ve been a DONE THING otherwise.
It’s time we ponder deeper into the fact that how much we take our parents for granted, sideline them on our way up the ladder and reach out immediately to them at the first sign of crisis.
Do we think it’s right to keep positioning parents as crisis shock absorbers or must they be an integral part of our day to day insulation? Shouldn’t they be given time each day, listened to each day, taken care of each day, checking on them each day irrespective of crisis, ensuring their daily needs and medical needs are met/taken care of each day, keeping them involved in the day to day happenings of your life, expressed gratitude to them each day and most importantly set precedence for Gen next; such that when we are in our years of slow down, it shouldn’t take a lock down for us to be tended to!
Fortunately, this time when crisis led some of us home, as always, our parents were there with open arms and unconditional hearts, But…life is fragile… What after this phase is over and we’re back to the “Busy Life we lead”… Would we then wait for yet another crisis to get back, and you never know…that time round .. they may not be there to embrace you again…. How scary is that?
This write up is to stir an imperative thought wave…that of CARE for the ELDERLY…more of concern about all these emotions just being momentary.
It pains to notice, that we tend to turn to the unconditional only when conditions apply on us. We owe them the most of us, more than anything else , because, if not for them, we may not have been blessed with LIFE…. Our stature, our success, our position in the workplace hierarchy, our bank balance and other ‘ Tangibles’ would be meaningless.
You must be wondering, In a professional forum, why write emotions? Well, Ok then, lets look at How Leadership is impacted by OUR ROOTS/OUR ANCHORS?