The power of we: What families still teach us
A family is the first place where values take root and character is shaped. Today, as individualism rises, the true meaning of family is being forgotten. It’s crucial we revive and preserve family values for a stronger, united future
A happy family is but an earlier heaven said Nobel Prize laureate George Bernard Shaw. Sadly, the world we live in today tells a different story. The idea of family is gradually fading, giving way to a culture of individualism. More and more people are choosing to live life on their own terms, often with an “I couldn’t care less” attitude — a mindset that’s become all too common. Our forefathers were brought up with strong family values, but with passing time and ever-changing scenarios, today those core values have been left behind to adopt new so-called modern values. It’s so unfortunate that today very few of us know the importance of living or growing up in a family. One must understand the fact that a family is the first school where the literate and the illiterate have got their first lessons in the art of living and in values, traditions, customs and conventions. Also in a family, everyone feels secured and protected. Everyone feels strong because of the strength of the family.
Everyone feels a kind of support, sustenance and encouragement. It is, therefore, essential to help and facilitate the growth of good supportive families for foundation as family tradition rather than promoting individualistic lifestyle for the sake of the next generation & future to come. There is some kind of a magnetic force that holds the members of a family together. In other words, it is a feeling of closeness and belongingness in the mind of every person and the feeling of acceptance on the part of the whole group that gives it the nomenclature of a family. Today we see that the families are splitting up because certain values like mutual affection, love & genuine caring that make a family work are vanishing because everyone wants to live an independent life without any kind of family interference. However, if the younger ones continue to give regard to the elders and the elders continue to give love to the younger ones, then the family life would continue to be undisturbed and everyone will act in a responsible manner. But, if each one gives up their responsibility and the feeling of concern for others, then cracks would appear and get deeper.
Hence in order to preserve the family structure & tradition, one needs to have tolerance, sobriety & humility because family is very essential to civilised life, be it a spiritual family or the society as a family or of nations. Hence, we should consider family as a place where we can work for physical, mental, moral and spiritual growth and can create an environment where others also can grow. A family can change a person into a great leader, disciplinarian, soldier, criminal or scholar by encouraging or discouraging, supporting or condemning certain positive or negative traits in him. We must, therefore, pay attention to the transformation of families because families are the breeding grounds of good or bad human beings. So, let us awaken people to observe the family values such as mutual love, trust, acceptance, accommodation, consideration and care for the wellbeing of others, spirit of adjustment, tolerance, responsibility and cooperation, because if these family values flourish, the nation and the whole humankind will flourish too.
(Writer is a spiritual educator & popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK. Till Date 8500+ Published Columns have been written by Him)
