You exit the womb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So much has gone into you becoming a human being. You think to yourself “how lucky I am. I’m grateful to be alive. Time to have some fun.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t know if it’s your first life or #152, but the odds of you remembering your previous lives are pretty slim. You have to learn everything from scratch. Even coordinating movement is a huge challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But you’re a warrior. You can do anything you want. Your brain is seeking to learn. To explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until you hear the following word:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
S.T.O.P.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you really think we would let you have an easy life? Of course not. We’re adults. We know better. We will teach you everything. Don’t worry. And if there’s something we don’t know, there’s always Wikipedia and Youtube. Lucky you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We build houses, because we hate the rain. And by doing so we took extra care to make it super dangerous for children. Let’s explore your first life lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well home wasn’t a huge success for you. But don’t worry, part 2 of your journey is about social interactions. You’ve just learned to walk and are able to say a few words: car, water and poo. That’s plenty of words to have a conversation. Time to socialize. Your first encounters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did those interactions go? Great? The real fun begins now. It’s time to go to school. You just turned 3. You can talk and walk. Your brain is still immature? Don’t worry, as I’ve said. Everything is going to fix itself with time. Being an adult is great. You’ll see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday 6 am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time to wake up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’re in the middle of a dream? Not my problem. We have to go. Oh there are some rules to follow in order to avoid anarchy but you’ll learn quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the remaining 197 rules, please read the school manual and have it signed by your legal authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally after a great day at school. Sitting 8 hours straight on a chair, drawing inside the squares, your parents have decided to have a family dinner in their favorite restaurant. Tonight is your favorite show on TV. Well too bad. But don’t worry, you’ll be an adult in 14 years. Restaurants are great. You don’t have to cook, nor do the dishes. Less chores for your parents. You still have to clean your room though. After some fun at home, at the park and at school, you’ll get to go out. You should be grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t get me wrong. Some rules are important. But it feels like we keep adding rules about everything. We are becoming less and less tolerant. This mother is breastfeeding? OMG a boob, I feel offended! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that you are not permitted to drink plain water in the subway in Singapore?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drinking plain water, or any beverage for that matter, is not permitted because the beverage could spill and wet seats, soil other commuters\u2019 belongings or cause a fellow commuter to slip and fall. <\/p>SMRT TRAINS WEBSITE<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Or that in Enland, it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or that urinating in the ocean is against the law in Portugal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s crazy, right? I pee in the ocean all the time…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, what better way is there to kill curiosity and creativity than forbid a kid to explore its surroundings. Let him burn himself, it’ll teach him about fire. All those rules are creating a generation of robots. Robots spending all their “free” time on LifeSuckingBook.com \u00ae<\/p>\n\n\n\n And don’t get me even started on our “great” school system… I’ll keep that for another post. In the meantime, here’s a great TED talk on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chapter 1: Our home, Your home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 2: Social Interactions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 3: School is so much Fun!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 4: Going out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it’s time to say yes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n