ON INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION

I have been thinking about this and needed to observe this before I came back to you.
For the past two weeks I have been at odd with this beautiful concept of seeing ‘sameness’ vis a vis ‘otherness ‘ in our community .

Culturally India has been living in large communities both at a familial level and socially too. However with Westernization individualization comes along as a corollary , and I myself have become oriented towards me and my family , slowly shedding my siblings families and others who my parents would not even have considered to do without.

As we share our tea, friends of my generation seem to linger on vistas that used to be.
For instance our childhood that was easy and light in comparison to our children who now consider any remark or comment as nosy or infringing on their privacy.

Living in a metro they have that freedom and autonomy of being relieved of judgment as they see it While 20 years back it was perceived as concern without sophisticated communication skills

We had festivals and celebrations without knowing who sponsored it. Marriages where you did not have to have a proper invite, naming ceremonies, and baby showers all reasons to converge and celebrate. on e did not have to know” who” died, just that the family was grieving was reason enough to support them in any which way we could.
Today these acts are considered ill mannered and intrusive.

To me personally it brings me closer to understanding my Mother’s words “If you draw a line sure enough there will be two segments. Right or wrong not withstanding “
So when I say this is my boundary certainly there is exclusion, and inclusion and most human beings long for inclusion. This is why we seek to exclude because in a very illogical way we get included and therefore some form of acceptance happens as an outcome.

To understand the wariness that is happening all over the world , it is quite disturbing as we are bombarded day in and day out scenes of terror , violence , death , murder , rape , anger , assaults and much more through the media .is it any wonder then that our sense of self preservation will not mount to the fore .?

Our trust levels are low and fear lurks as we meet strangers, not knowing what can happen out of this association.

It certainly pays to be safe than sorry

As our world shrinks in the palm of our hand, there is hardly a place safe from negative inquiry.

I loved the quote of Chard in and have pasted it in front of my screen, to serve as a reminder that Yes, we need to hold hands and make this ascent a natural way of being

What are your thoughts on this West African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child?”