If you want to understand how to become better allies to people with disabilities, then join us at Embracing All Abilities: Including People with Disabilities at Work.
Sometimes when I struggle to understand my mother's generation, I remind myself that there are stories behind that exterior that I am unaware of, and that's when I learn to turn my impatience into acceptance.
The topic is so loaded that I don’t even know where to start, but being back home is hitting different this time.
Not to give credit to my age but also probably at a certain point in life you learn few lessons and your perspective changes or rather expands.
I have started to see my mother’s generation as very laden and exhausted, with too many stories and too less time to share it all. The pain points they have now seep through in their behaviour at times.
If someone had made them feel small and they had no power to fight it decades back, the oppression now comes out as an aggressive point of view.
If someone had made them feel like they don’t matter no matter how hard they work for the house, it now comes out as icy exterior, no-one can penetrate it rather than hurt her anymore.
If someone had not given them the chance to be themselves for decades, it now comes out as possesive and cruel.
Sometimes I look at my mother’s generation and I feel different emotions now than what I felt a decade back.
Anger has been replaced with compassion.
Agitation has been replaced with patience.
Sadness has been replaced with letting go.
I always thought the best way to live is to move on from painful situations, but over the years I learnt to process and truly close some chapters. But that’s a self learning, self taught approch that took years. Still there is a long way to go for me personally.
Also over the years I shed the thought process of having a rigid view of my mother’s generation, the blanket thought of the “elders know best.” The key aspect I would always forget was that the elder was also someone young before, someone who had dreams, someone who had hopes, someone who was someone.
Sometimes when I struggle to understand this generation, I remind myself that there are stories behind that exterior that I am unaware of and that’s when I learn to turn my impatience into acceptance.
That I may not know why but I do know how circumstances change a person. I can only hope that the generation after me can have a easier time with my generation overall.
Image source: a still from the film Thappad
read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
'Sania denied fairy-tale ending: suffers loss in AUS open final' says a news headline. Is this the best we can do? Is it a fitting tribute to one of the finest athletes we have in our country?
Sania Mirza bid an emotional and tearful farewell to her Grand Slam journey as a runner up in the mixed doubles final. Headlines read –
“Sania Mirza breaks down in tears while recalling glorious career after defeat in Grand Slam’
“Sania denied fairy-tale ending: suffers loss in AUS open final”
Yuvaraj Shele, a small-time worker from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, did battle many odds and arranged for his mother Ratna’s wedding a few weeks ago. The main point that he put forth was that he felt his mother was lonely and saw the need for her to live happily.
A myth that goes without saying is that only a woman can understand another woman better. What happens when a man does understand what a woman goes through? Especially when the woman is his mother, that too when she is a widow?
This scene does remind of a few movies/web series where the daughter/son do realize their mother’s emotions and towards the end, they approve of their new relationship.
Please enter your email address