Belief is the ultimate truth, and other wild ideas

By Sadhika on

As a child, my parents made several absolute statements to me out of sheer endearment. 

Some examples of absolute statements: 

You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.

There is nothing in the world you cannot do.

You are smart enough to become anything you want.


Needless to say, such statements are not literally true, of course. But they are true in another sense. Statements of absoluteness capture limitlessness. A child needs to believe in it. In fact, I would go so far as to argue that limitlessness is the birthplace of faith itself. 


Your son will never be 6ft tall. How do you prepare him for that? What do you do when the facts are lined up against you? You bring in faith. There are other games he can win at. That’s one confidence-boosting outlook.


As adults, our efforts, energies, even opportunities are limited. Or rather, they are constrained by time and circumstance, responsibilities, our own vices and the daily drudgery. Amidst the inevitable disappointments life brings with it, the sight of a smiling baby fills us with so much joy and optimism because it represents the endless potential of tomorrow.


Sometimes my brain plays around with a wild idea: God is man, with mortal limits removed. The concept of Heaven is the embodiment of the best-case scenario, made accessible to mortal men who edge closer towards His light. 


Making absolute statements to your child is NOT lying. Perhaps, it is speaking the biggest meta-truth of all. Shouldn’t parents teach more than literal truths to their children?

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