5 Fantastic Lessons from the book "The Kite Runner" by Khalid Hosseini

"The Kite Runner" by Khalid Hosseini was a # 1 New York Times bestseller for many years with over 7 million copies sold in USA alone. The book revolves around key relationships of a father-son, two close friends, and the spirit of redemption...Read on..

This is a very well crafted story with some intricate learning for our day to day life. Depicting the story of a young boy from Kabul, the story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime

I, hereby, list down 5 fantastic lessons that I learned from this awesome book. I know that I need to keep practicing these learning - day in and day out. These lessons are worded and appended in a way that makes it easier for most of us to understand and absorb.

If you are interested in reading about such learning from other all time best selling books, you may click here.

So, here we go with our 5 fantastic lessons from this book that influenced me immensely.

1) It is difficult to love people who see everything as only black or white... More so when they themselves decide what is black and white. 
[My Views]
If you see things as right or wrong, correct or incorrect, true or false, black or white, then you are yet to learn the art of life, and appreciate its beauty. The fact is that there is nothing concrete in life. There is no single truth. There is nothing perfectly correct or incorrect. These are all emotions, perceived under specific circumstances, displayed based on inherited or acquired sanskars. 
Look at the person whom you feel is wrong. Put yourself in the shoes of that person, give yourself all the sanskars that person has gone through - in this birth and all its previous births - and you will suddenly find yourself doing exactly what this person was doing. Not only that, you will be unequivocally branding the same very act as perfectly legitimate. People are just different, including you. And the difference is just a product of different circumstances. Enjoy this difference. That is the true beauty of this life.
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2) Children are not your coloring books that you fill them up with your favourite colours. 
[My Views]
More often than not, we try and fulfill our desires, ambitions and unconquered goals through our children. 
There are two blatant mistakes we would be doing if we ever attempt doing anything close to it. 
First, we try to possess our children - as if they are our private property. On the other hand, the hard fact is that they are not our children. We do not possess them. They are HIS children and we are their caretakers. We should be doing our best to protect them, nurturing them, help them evolve, and then letting them fly - their own path. They did not take birth to fulfill your dreams. They came to this planet to chase their mission. 
Second, they are as different from you as you are from your parents. If you ask me, my parents only thought about a good job as a career and saving money as the only way to accumulate wealth. On the other hand, I feel that our true passion should be somehow made our profession, and nothing else. Financially, I have not only saved, but invested money wisely enough to achieve financial freedom - and rejected the concept of, what my parents would have thought were, "dream jobs". That was my path. No one is wrong or right here. We are just different, our actions a result of different circumstances.
Let your child fill whatever color they like for the coloring books of their lives. Do not bind them with the constraints of social pressure or your self created or unfulfilled desires. Chasing their own dreams, is the only way they will live happy - and Happiness happens to be the ultimate reason to live a meaningful life.
[Recommended Post] : Do not possess, just love | Life Lessons from a dying pet | Your Passion Vs Profession | It is time to fly
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3) If you have some talent and you don't hone it, you are being a hindrance in God's mission.
[My Views]
You have been uniquely blessed, just like every other human being on this planet. The purpose of your life is to go on and discover that unique talent, and then hone that talent to achieve what God always wanted you to achieve. Try new things, do not judge those things by their money earning potential - but by the love of the craft. Once you have identified your talent and have started working on it, then do not bother about the results or HOW will you achieve success. Because after that, it is not your mission, it is HIS mission and He will get it done the way HE wants it.
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4) We often do mistakes, and big ones - including betraying someone's trust. Good people feel the guilt of those mistakes. To overcompensate for the guilt, they do great work. True redemption is therefore, when guilt leads to good. In the end, God will forgive everyone. 
[My Views]
Gods love is unconditional. Even if a thief, murder or a rapist comes to HIM and seeks forgiveness, HE does not think for a moment before blessing that person. We humans cannot do it, and therefore we are humans. Though not of the same proportion, but we have all done mistakes in life - small or big. We have all cheated someone, betrayed someone's trust at some stage - sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. If you have realised that and felt the guilt, then you have the power to convert that guilt into great work. You can overcompensate by doing something fabulous for the impacted person. Guilt, therefore, can lead to greatness.
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[Recommended Book] : Dream On

5) It's wrong to hurt even bad people. Because they don't know any better and because bad people also can become good. But when they are doing bad,you have to stand up to them 
[My Views]
There is an inherent duality everywhere. No one is bad or wrong - their habits could be. Hate their habits, but not the person - because it is the habits that need to change, not the person. Each person is a beautiful loving soul. 
[Recommended Post] : Detach the Duality
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Hope these 5 fantastic realisations will help shape up your thought process to some extent and help you lead a better life.

Don't have time to read the entire book? 
Then, you can read the crux of some of the best selling books ever written.

If you are interested in reading about such learnings from other 'all time best selling books', you may click here.

Cheers

Manoj Arora

Official Website | My Mission