“There’s always a silver lining to any dark cloud, Aaryan.. once you settle down, I would like you to look for that silver lining” I said after exhausting myself to calm him down..
“What could be a silver lining to this, baba?”, he said with utter despair in his tone and look of irritation.. he glanced at his mother and grandmother, kind of pleading them to shut me up.
This conversation was late in the evening. I was quite keen to see my son settle down but I knew his experience was such that it was going to take a while for him to make peace with. He had refused to talk to anybody after coming back from his cricket practice, and had locked himself in his room for a while. He must have cried his heart out and then ventured out of his bed to face up to his folks. After 5 hours, I thought he should now look at the brighter side of his painful experience.
“Let us listen to what your father has to say, Aaryan. It might help you think more rationally.” Megha said to him.
I jumped at this opportunity – To me, you are deeply hurt and angry. I can understand your anger. It will help me Aaryan to know what is hurting you so much.. would you like to share?
With much hesitation, Aaryan started sharing – “I got this pink ball from Australia as a gift from my grandmother on 24th April. It is not easily available in India, not many people have it here and Amazon takes time to deliver it. I got it and I was so happy.
I kept the ball at home all these days. I used to shine it as I had learnt through some videos and was practicing my bowling action with the ball. After all this time, I decided to take the ball to my cricket practice.
Both, mother and granny, told me not to take. But I said, there is no thief in my friend circle and my ball is safer in my cricket kit than at home.”
And then he again burst out.
Hmm.. this is where his pain is coming from.
I felt deeply for my boy, his pain and his struggle. These were his dark clouds –
I didn’t listen to my mother and grandmother. I was over confident.
I trusted my friends more.
And I lost my precious possession.
His silver lining –
He needs to listen to someone’s experience –wisdom – and act accordingly. Confidence to trust someone has to be data based, not emotions.
He needs to learn, very early in life, that not everyone you come across is a friend.
And, he needs to make peace with the fact that not everyone can contain their desires and hence will want to have things easy way. Even if it means, through stealing.
After more than a month, he is yet to make peace with this experience.
I am also in touch with the silver lining of such ‘pink balls’ experiences in my life.