This very though popped in my mind when my
daughter came to me asking for a thought for the day. I did explain to her
about fear and dreams and also added how she should approach it without fear.
She looked at me confused.
With
parents and teachers constantly creating awareness about safety and security
with videos and talks, it is easy to confuse a child.
I
could read her googly mind through her confused look. A set of how’s and whys started
circling around in my head.
As
a mother, I worry a lot about her safety and security. I started questioning
myself how should I instil the courage in my daughter to face the real world
where only selfish and cowards rule. I taught my daughter a password to protect
herself from possible stranger danger. I also taught her that when an animal
comes chasing to hurt, all we need to do is to stand still to protect ourselves.
Now
we have all possible safety measures to protect ourselves from danger caused by
animals. But we do not have any fool-proof safety measures to protect us against
humans!
I
could tell her that when a human comes to hurt, she should scream for help. But
can it help to take out the fear of such criminals? How can I ask her to dream?
As a human being, as a mom, I felt helpless.
Though
the new world of dreams blooms at childhood, I fear that the words child,
children, childhood, child play and innocence could get deleted from the
dictionary one day if we are not careful with our children and their safety.
I
do believe that I have chosen a noble profession of being a teacher to
children. And in that lies my pride because as a 2nd mother to the
children, every teacher in her mind owns the child’s growth as if of their own.
How can a teacher inspire and instil the passion to dream when she lives in
fear?
The
human in me fears the security of future generation. All I can do for them is
hold placards, go on a rally and get the chairman of an institution arrested
for his irresponsibility. Is that all I
can do?
When
I plunge into these thoughts, the world’s bravest man’s words help me - “I
learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The
brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
While saying this, Nelson Mandela’s visionary mind would have thought about the
future of his children and he might had an answer for my questions.
But
for now, all we can do is to teach our children to stay safe and follow rules
as taught by their parents and teachers.