LIFE LESSONS from 'THE LITTLE TRAITOR'

-

 

The Little Traitor: A movie showing on Prime video, follows the unusual friendship between Proffy Liebowitz, a precocious and articulate 12-year-old Jewish boy, and a British soldier posted in Palestine named Stephen Dunlop. Though a sweet unassuming ‘coming of age' movie set in innocent times, it teaches us a lot about relationships, learning, and life.

                                    


1. Unexpected friendships are the best ones: As we meander through life, the possibility to make a friend lurks at every corner. Life gives us this beautiful gift of opportunity through  surprising and sometimes strange situation and coincidences. Take the opportunity, walk the common path and explore where it carries you. Keeping it or leaving it the power of choice is yours. The movie shows us a glimpse of a brief friendship that was carried in the hearts for a lifetime.

2. Common interests and shared beliefs build good friends: The statement “you too?” has started many a friendship. Humans have a need to share our inner thoughts with a mirror of our souls. It can be the initial trust builder or a starting point of a long journey. The biblical Book of Samuel was this common interest that made Proffy realize that he has something in common with his enemy.

3. There is a teacher everywhere:  The option to learn is everywhere, teachers come in all shapes, sizes, and situations. Train yourself to grab opportunities to learn. Every skill in life counts however complex, interesting, or mundane it is to learn. The Sergeant Stephen is studying the book of Samuel to improve his Hebrew, knowing very well that he is not going to spend a lifetime in Palestine. Their time spent challenging each other to pronounce the toughest possible words in their respective language is a joyful learning technique...indubitably, daleem, snooker, meshugga, septuagenarian... it goes on.

4. Strangers are the family our hearts seek, who listens without judgement: All of us have experienced this sometime in life. Today in our extremely virtual, connected worlds we gather support and strength through the networks we have made online, people from other geographies, time, age, and situations far from us. There is a strange comfort in opening up to strangers which is not so with our immediate family. It comes from the knowledge that they will not be judgemental, or criticize our actions. Proffy could share his ‘coming of age’ secrets with Stephen and Stephen in exchange, his plans for the future. The respect for that bond sustained separation for a lifetime.

5. You need friends of all kinds to go through life: All your friends will never be on the same plane of understanding. You have to respect and acknowledge personal dynamics between individuals in a group to remain friends. Every relationship between two people is unique and we need it for our personal growth. Expecting everyone to understand the depths of a relationship is an impossibility. Acknowledge the fact that you will outgrow some friendships as you live, there may be a time where friends will be mere acquaintances, and that is ok. Doors to new friendships will open. Proffy’s relationships with his peers, neighbourhood elders, and Stephen show us that.

The Little Traitor is a simple and tender story of friendship between unequals, in a conflicted land that has a lot to teach us all. Definitely worth a watch.

#primevideo # friendship #choice #skills #strangers 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Moonlighting’ in the time of WFH – Part I

-
Image
 What is moonlighting? In simple terms, it means having another job in addition to your Primary one. Moonlighting is also known as ‘side-hustle’, side-gig’ or ‘private consulting’. It has been endemically present in the non-IT sector, but with WFH and smart technology, it has aggressively moved into this vertical.                                              #Moonlighting can be categorized as ‘ Inbred Moonlighting’ and ‘Outbred moonlighting’ . Inbred moonlighting is working on additional jobs or assignments in the same or similar industry where your primary job is, ‘Outbred moonlighting’ is working in an industry unrelated to the industry your primary employment is in. As per the study of Manipal Global Education- one of India’s largest Education services Groups, India is second to only the USA with more than 15million freelancers. In precovid times, an incipient sharing industry, epitomized later by #Uber, #Airbnb, and many others targeted people with jobs. The proposition of
Read more

The Ambiguous Path Home

-
Image
Hiraeth ; a Welsh word that has no direct English translation. Hiraeth  is  a feeling   with many layers . It is homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that never was and also sense of regret, along with a general sadness over the lost or departed. It's a longing for a place, for one’s homeland , a romanticized past , but unlike homesickness, hiraeth  can be felt for a place one has never been to. To  feel hiraeth  is to feel a deep incompleteness and recognize it as familiar. Globalization and strife have pushed a huge diaspora of humans to every corner of the world, feeling Hiraeth. It is the longing you hear in the voices of the ones who have left their homeland long ago, a homeland which continues to remain in their hearts. A homeland, which has ceased to physically exist , maybe simply due to decades of development, done to ensure the improvement of the current occupant’s quality of life. The places they once inhabited, the people who once walked the land, all c
Read more

Are we converting into a world of Soldiers? Where are the Scouts?

-
Image
 The concept of ‘Soldier’ and ‘Scout’ in our everyday decision-making and behavior has been in the frontline of discussion ever since Julia Galef explained it in her Tedtalk. Cultures across the world have their way of decision-making and behavior towards people different from them. Asian cultures expect decisions and behaviors to benefit the greater good of the community or family . In the west, the need for individuality or freedom of expression influences the decision-making process and actions. Can the #learnings of the #Soldier and #Scout method help us reach the right #decision-making process? What is Soldier behavior? As the word suggests, a soldier approaches any situation with attacking and defending . Anyone challenging them with alternatives is perceived as the enemy, and the only option is to shut down the opposition. Having to change their mind or accept an opposing view is a sure defeat for the soldier. What is Scout behavior? A scout is motivated by curiosity
Read more