REFLECTIONS
REFLECTIONS : IS PARTING SORROW ? AUTHOR Teresita Bacani-Oropilla , MD
Spring has rekindled hope and joy in our hearts . Once bare tree limbs pointing towards grey skies have put on foliage of myriad colors - reds , orange , greens and purples . Some have gone a step further , with cherry blossoms , pink and white dogwoods leading the pack . Fields of green , likewise , which later produce grains and fruits of the earth to nourish the populace , dot the landscape .
Birds sing their courtship songs and build their nests . Animals , both wild and domestic , know it is breeding time . Time comes when these fruits of the earth , the fledgling of these nests , and the young beasts leave to perpetuate their kind . Thus the cycle of life on earth goes on .
Thus too , with the best of them , the sapient ones , the caretakers of all , we humans do the same . What do we actually do ?
Does a bird miss its fledgling when it flies away ? Does an animal continue to suckle its young ones or teach them to fend for themselves and let them go ?
Cultures differ , but they ( we ) too , do the same at one time or another . Yet , there seems to be a difference . We know , we feel and can be verbal about it . Parting can generate a lot of sadness on both sides . Parents , used to nurturing , may feel they are no longer needed , thus abandoned . Children , ready to pursue their own goals , feel they need to cut the apron strings that bind them .
This is complicated by the fact that the older generation , due to advances in scientific care , may grow to an age where they become feeble and need care themselves ! Thus , our “ sandwich generation ” that have to progress , care for themselves and their children and their parents besides , have emerged .
Do we think and believe sometimes , that it would be better not to have such emotions as love and caring ? Or such constrictions as obligations and paying back ?
Is parting such sweet sorrow ? What say you ?
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
MAY 2022 25