How to Build a Bridge

My father is incorruptible.

For the longest time ever, i've been thinking that my dad is a strong man. He perseveres through all the tough times in his life, and there have been many: motorbike accidents, getting a job without an education, and even after getting it, the menial nature of the job assuring each day to be arduous, brutish, painful. My mom's cancer later in life almost broke him down; but he found Faith, and the miraculous recovery of her cancer that accompanied it.

It takes a deep-rooted sense of discipline, courage and perseverance to be my father every single day of his life. To me, that was strength. Strength, pure and strong, able to overcome any obstacle in life.

Then he changed. With age, he learned the humility to suppress his chauvinistic, self-righteous self. With experience, he mastered control over his raging temperament. With wisdom, he gave a voice to his soul.

And i heard it today, steadfast, resolute and firm. That was the voice of strength. Not simply sheer willpower or endurance, for even the reckless have that. Nor constancy or discipline, for these may be misguided in efforts. I mistook strength for these, and blindly adored these values. But today I learned a most valuable lesson.

A strong person is the one who unwaveringly believes in and acts by his moral stand. A strong person never compromises his principles for money, power, popularity, status, or any lesser things. A strong person is incorruptible, and try what you may, you can never get him to sacrifice his values for self-interested material gains. Because as Socrates believed, it is in your self-interest to be moral. Because it is right, it is just; it is human.

And I've always felt, there exists such a wide, gaping chasm between the moral values you hold, and the actions you do in real life. Many never cross this gap. But today i listened to my father, and i saw the steadfast bridge he'd built over long decades of impetuousness, recklessness, stupidity and arrogance, mistakes all; and also good intention, grit, courage, blood and tears. I saw the way he strode forward straight into the sun, in the relentless belief that this was the right path. And i thought to myself, this is how a backbone is made.

Thank you dad, for showing me today how to build a bridge.