Righteous Brothers
The Ritual Of Family Inspiration
I would like to think that I am relatively good at navigating relationships. At least those that I am not obligated to by blood. Just when you think you can’t stand the prearranged relationships that bind you to your name, someone comes along with a change of heart that forces your own growth.
The Polaris ATV that my brother acquired was his little man toy. He adamantly banned women. This included his sister and his own mother. My father’s role was to show up with his portable GPS and run off into the woods with my brother. My mother and I were supposed to be tending to the meal.
My brother has always relished his role as the only man in my father’s life. He designs tattoo ideas that depict horrible images of women in their most vulnerable and goes about his life in a bubble all his own. While I am busy saving whales and trying to right the wrongs of the universe with the power of the written word, he is off scouting some new way to ostracize the female race.
The two of them played their man games for every family gathering, being extra careful to exclude the weaker sex. Of course, just on principle I was able to throw quite the fit and make my own noise on the topic. I didn’t really want to join them. I just wanted them to join the 21st century.
Family relationships are the test of all relationship potential. If you can learn something from your family that will allow you to navigate other relationships well, you have something. At one of our monthly family meals there were no man games. Instead, there was the introduction of a woman that would eventually marry my brother.
My mother and I exchanged glances wondering how he landed such an attractive woman. When she spoke, she had intelligent things to say. Something had shifted in the foundation of life.
Eventually, my brother apologized for his barbaric behavior and treatment of women. While he dished out a heartfelt segue, I felt my face flush with embarrassment. For as highly as I regarded my good works in the world, I had written his chance for change and happiness off. I had discarded his ability to grow as a human being. Humbled in this lesson, I will at least retain the hope for an eventual friendship between the two of us.
Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
