Can your children inspire you?

It was eleven years ago, I turned 43. It was my birthday but it was not a happy one. I was depressed and thinking of ways to end my life.

Our family owned organisation was in dire straits. We were in the midst of a terrible economic recession. I was struggling to maintain my sanity and preserve the outstanding image that we had painstakingly built up. There was no money left in the bank and creditors were hounding us. I regretted so many things, the huge debt we had accumulated to fund our aggressive growth to triple our capacity. The craze to be a global leader in our industry by 2010 etc.

To make matters worse our family structure had developed deep and irreparable fissures on the issues relating to how best to resolve the crisis. Completely polarised into different sub groups our world was crashing around us.

Normally happy and optimistic, I felt I was at the nadir of my life.
Of course when you head an organisation you can't just take off. Everyone aspires to get to the top and that is not a bad thing if you enjoy your work. At such times the responsibility that you shoulder is a thousand fold greater than the privileges you enjoy. So there I sat with my head in my hands on the dining table while my food remained untouched.

Then in walked my two sons from their tuitions. They greeted me, wished me happy birthday and gave me birthday cards that they had prepared. The cards were very amateurish, but the words were precious beyond any description.

Pavit wrote;
"All my friends say, that when they were little and didn't know any better, they all thought their fathers were Supermen, but as they grew up they realised that their dad were not Supermen but just men".
"I too, when I was little, thought my dad was a Superman, but now that I have turned 16 and am better informed, I still believe that my dad is a Superman. Happy Birthday".

I hugged my sons and wept. I realised that while we were teaching our children all about life, they were teaching us what life is all about.

I then recalled my wise Uncle’s words “Worries and regret never solve anything, they do not rob tomorrow of its sorrow, they merely sap today of its strength”.

This seemingly insignificant birthday card from my sons, was a powerful inspiration. An inspiration that motivates me even today.