I came across the tagline of Swiss watch Patek Philippe, which reads, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”
But I am thinking of something else:
You never really own your children. You merely look after them until they can be independent.
There have been many tragedies whereby depressed women killed their children before committing suicide. They probably thought that they owned their children, and therefore have the right to ‘destroy’ them. What surprise me is that, these tragedies, also known as filicide-suicide, happen not just in
The fool worries, thinking, “I have sons, I have wealth.” Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?
- Dhammapada verse 62
2 comments:
An astute observation, KS. I "have" three children, two sons and a daughter, all well into their own adult lives. But it's hard, as a parent, to let go--that is, not to feel responsible for who and what they are--even though wisdom dictates otherwise.
Peter,
I know it's tough. But to have a sense of responsibility is not the same as wanting to own...
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