Since I had guests last weekend and was unable to join in the Weekend Experiences, I thought I'd delight you all by posting on last week's topic this week instead.
Until I saw the prompt, I can’t say I’d ever come across the expression "Be your own hero," but I’m guessing that it’s one of those newfangled motivational slogans from around the turn of the century. Back in the twentieth century, when the world was a far more sensible place, anyone coming up with a maxim like "Be your own hero" or "Clean your room" would have been placed in the stocks and pelted with rotten fruit until they saw the error of their ways.
Now, I don't know about being my own hero, I’m more the hide-behind-the-sofa-until-the-bogeyman-is-gone type than I am the heroic type, but one thing I’ve always been is self-reliant and resilient. I know, I know, that’s two things, but nobody will notice.
The truth is that being raised by two drunks who made no bones about telling you that you were an unwanted accident is rather like being thrown into deep water without swimming lessons or water wings. You very quickly learn to swim, or you drown. Self-reliance isn't so much a virtue as a prerequisite for survival.
My father seemed to expect us children to emerge from the womb fully formed, immediately useful and already contributing to the household. He had about as much interest in parenting as my mother did, and she had none.
He liked to regale us with stories of the Spartans and how they exposed infants to harsh conditions to test their robustness and how children were sent away from their families to fend for themselves to encourage independence and resilience from a very young age.
I could complain, but I won't. As it turned out, it was excellent preparation for the turbulent life that awaited me.
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Posted in response to Galenkp's Weekend experiences asking ' ' Be your own hero: What does this mean to you and why?".
The images are mine
