The Right to Complain

We live in a very demanding world - that makes outlandish claims on us. Including the demand that we not complain about this. We can complain about little things as much as we want - but not about the big things - that make all the difference.

One of these big things - is the way the world is treating us. We were born with the right to complain about this - every baby can cry loudly. Adults have to decide whether this crying is something they should respond to - or ignore.

I remember seeing three children going for a walk in Indonesia - the oldest was about five, and the youngest could barely walk. In this neighborhood, the houses were constructed around a community courtyard, where no vehicles were permitted. It was a safe place for people to walk around in.

But there were busy streets outside of the pedestrian areas, but were full of speeding vehicles, of all kinds. Not a safe place to be. The parents of these children let them walk there, however - because they knew the three of them, knew how to be careful. Their combined intelligence was equal to that of an adult.

I watched, with amazement, at how this combined intelligence worked. The little one had a short attention span, and wanted to stop and stare at whatever he saw. The middle one understood this - but gently urged him to not dawdle too long. The oldest one was in charge - and made sure the three of them stayed out of trouble. The adults who were also walking on the street - treated the three of them as one person.

In this situation, everyone was taking care of everyone else. Everyone respected everyone else. And no one had to complain about anything.

Very unusual!