Going down a few dark or unexpected alleys in my life, is what has given it colour. Rebellion is a normal part of growth. I tried to teach my youngsters that rebellion was ok so long as they did not do themselves or anybody else permanent harm. I was always a bit of a rebel. I remember the day I unthinkingly called home to tell my parents I was off to live in Israel for a while.
Their end of the phone had gone silent. My dad had eventually taken up the conversation and with his typical humour, he had quipped,
“Hold on while I get your mother’s head out of the ceiling.”
Dad could make a joke on almost any occasion. I remembered that when we said goodbye to him in our backyard and my lively three-year-old son had blown out the candle I was using. We had fallen about laughing through the tears.
My goal has never been to stifle rebellion, just to ensure that such a rebellion was motivated by their own free will, not implanted. This has proven much harder than I could have ever imagined and made me realise why Dad had been busy “removing my mother’s head from the ceiling.”
It has never been my goal to teach unquestioning obedience, which would have meant I really was a total hypocrit, just to raise young people who could think for themselves.
Source: David Bowie https://youtube.com/c/davidbowie
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