The green and brown cloak of values

By Ian | 28 September, 2012

Commentary to “Greens and Browns”:

I wrote a poem about an intelligent young lady, who I understood stood in the shadow of her brother (although she later said, she didn’t feel that way).

She is of the type who could do a lot of things successfully in life. Outgoing, competent, not scared to try new things, spoke several languages, etc.

She was in a phase where she needed to take decisions on what to do in the next couple of years i.e. What path was she going to take for a career, etc.

Big Decision Time.

The only trouble was, she didn’t really know what really excited her, on what she should base that decision.

I had the urgent feeling that I had to write something, as though somebody was levering me.

It’s about the values of the parents and society, about how one should live and behave, the expectations on her, about her finding out what she wants.

But it also applies to others, no age limit.

Like myself, I am still struggling with laying off the chains of “correct behaviour”.

The trouble is: I don’t know how to react to certain situations. I have the breaks on. Control at maximum. Deadlock.
Stiff upper lip. Correct.

What a pain. If I only could let go.
And what a loss of chances, and of life.