What will you call it? Camouflage? Or conditioning? I would call it the latter. A friend of mine is a really good tarot card reader and other than the schizophrenia card, this card of a lion with a sheep wrapped around him is standing in a herd of sheep, pretending he’s sheep, almost always appears in any of my spreads.
He either doesn’t know he’s not a sheep, or he thinks he’ll get away by passing off as sheep. Whichever be the reason, he’s been conditioned to think he’s sheep. He could have been conditioned that way or he has chosen to do it himself.

How many of us are really in his situation at this point in time? How many of us are doing a job that is the ‘right’ one to do? How many of us lead our lives the way our society and relatives think we should? How many of us look down or look up to a certain sect, caste or creed of people because our family did? What are these family values people keep ranting about? Why are your family values superior to any one else’s family values or lower than other’s for that matter?

I guess what I’m trying to say is, can we not strike a balance? Can we stay away from tangents? It’s either a life that’s virtuous or family value oriented or one that isn’t. You have adhered to all rules and principles that were laid down and bred into your young mind from the very start. Does being level-headed come from being rational or from your upbringing? Or both? When can we move away to be independent in thought? No one stops us but our conditioning. It’s that voice in our head, installed at an early age, when pain is felt but soon forgotten.

We are still colonised in our minds, said Rabindranath Tagore, we cant help but feel white is cleaner and purer. West is more developed. When will independence really come to us? When will we be able to take our decisions and be supported, instead of being called rebellious or still in throes of growing up. Why does age or wisdom have to be considered as submission to the way of life as it has been?