January 17, 2011
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Sharing As A Virtue
When my little cousin was born, his brother was about six. The little one was the centre of the world naturally. The elder one was kind and lovely. But somehow he showed certain kind of jealousy.
When Zero came home, Choco became extremely jealous. He showed his anger by peeing on the carpet or somewhere he had not peed on. As Zero grows up, the two brothers have built up some kind of bonding. On one hand, the two of them start looking like a pair of sibling. They play together. They try to be the first arriving in the kitchen for breakfast every morning bumping each other on the way.
On the other hand, they always fight for something or even without any reason. Choco likes turning Zero head over heel all of a sudden. He also likes using his butts to bump Zero away. Zero in return bites Choco’s ears, hind legs and tail. Do not think that Zero is the victim. He likes running out of nowhere and barking in the face of Choco leaving Choco stunned for several seconds. I can proudly announce that Choco and Zero are now a pair of brothers.
There was once Choco and Zero being let loose at my parents’ place. We did not allow Choco entering the kitchen as a kind of rule and also as a kind of game. Zero is a daredevil in the house. Suddenly we heard Choco barking at the kitchen entrance. My Mom looked around from the sink. We also hurried to the scene. We saw that Choco was barking at Zero who was wandering inside the kitchen. Choco even tried to use his paw to grab Zero out of the kitchen. This was a kind of accusation. Choco held back his impulse of entering the kitchen so that he could accuse Zero of entering.
“I know. You are not allowed to enter the kitchen. So is Zero.” I grabbed Zero in one hand and shoved him out of the kitchen. This pacified the tantrum.
Choco was the only fur kid in the house. He ate slowly and he was quite picky. He is now not as picky as before but there is no way he eats fast. Whenever Choco rests a little in the middle of his meal or drops his treats on the floor, Zero will rush over and get several bites. This irritates Choco so much.
“You should eat fast and grab your treats tightly, Choco.” But the reminder does not work. Whenever Zero plays with some toys, Choco will give him some ambush and take Zero’s toys. Such cycle repeats and repeats every day.
Sibling rivalry! This seems quite natural. But Zero is typically an opportunist. Whenever there is opportunity, he will go and get it. On the contrary, Choco’s motive is a kind of selfishness.
I always ask my students to exchange their ideas with one another and to help each other to excel. I stress that this is lifelong learning which is embedded in daily life. To do this, we simply share whatever we can share with one another.
Sharing is a virtue. We are not born with the idea of sharing. When have we learned to share? When have we learned to enjoy sharing? When did we understand the goodness of sharing? We, humans, may be high-achievers in this area.
Choco and Zero remind me of my two little cousins. They also remind me of my brother and me. Sharing is something we can learn fast among siblings.
