20150311

He will have to cook for four wives!

My middle son Samuel is learning about Islam in school. One thing that surprised him was that according to Islam one man can have four wives.

He had also learned that the man had to treat all his wives equally well.
Poor him, he will have to cook for four wives! Samuel exclaimed.
I just love this comment.
I love it because it is completely unexpected  for most people.


It is not surprising for those who know my family though. My husband is the one cooking.
If I need to cook I will take the family to a restaurant / order take away / reluctantly heat something up in the microwave oven.
So for Samuel this is a very logical assumption to make.

It is easy to tilt our heads and smile at this cute comment from a child who bases his view of the world on his own situation.

But wait a second.
He is not the only one.
We all see the world based on our own experiences. This is normal. Normal and not bad at all. As long as we realize that our view is not the only one.

Or, as I heard Dr. Phil phrase it:

There is no reality. Only perceptions.


7 comments:

  1. Lol �� Dax för matlagningskurs Annika !

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    1. Nej då, så länge jag har Michiel kan jag hoppa över det ;-)

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  2. Jag läser spanska på onsdagskvällarna. Min fröken som är från Argentina berättade igår att spanjorskorna är väldigt "lata". De flesta anlitar städhjälp (från afrika), och köper hem take away, eller går på restaurang. Om detta stämmer med verkligheten, verkar det som om du passar in riktigt bra i Madrid Annika.

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    1. Det gör jag nog. :-)
      Vi bor i ett område där många privilegierade bor och många har "servicio" vilket brukar vara människor från Sydamerika som städar, lagar mat, tar hand om barn och går ut och går med hundar. En norska som bodde här berättade att de enda som åker buss är hon, hennes son och Sydamerikaner som är på väg till de hus där de arbetar. Men jag behöver ingen städhjälp - jag har ju som sagt Michiel!

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  3. Suverän kommentar av Samuel och mycket logisk.

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  4. Great, Annika!
    Being a husband does not have a fixed role description.
    Nor does being a wife, a son, a writer, a boxer, a peace activist, a Christian, a sailor, a magician, a prime minister, or a project manager.
    People try to lock us into narrow role definitions, but IRL we can all perform these roles in our very own ways. And that is good.
    That is why our contributions matter. It makes things meaningful.
    Please tell your kids, all of you!
    Thanks for this reminder!
    /Hans

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    1. I fully agree. If we can all lift our eyes and see persons for who they are, not for who we expect them to be, life will be more interesting and the world will most likely be more peaceful.

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