A Gentleman

"Who's a Gentleman?"

 

Parth, a 6-years old boy asked his father. "You! my boy" he replied with a laugh. "No dad, tell me na, I wanna be a gentleman but don't know how to be one" said the boy.  

The father replied with curiosity, "who told you about gentleman?" "My teacher" the boy answered followed by the words "My teacher said a real gentleman is someone with integrity." 

"Well, your teacher is right. Integrity is all about being honest to all your relationships and being a same person publicly and privately but your are not mature enough to understand all of this at this age but you'll be a true gentleman I'm sure" the father said. 

"Are you a gentleman?" The boy asked his father. 

He tried hiding his hesitation, tried to sound firm. "Of course, I am" the father replied avoiding eye contact. 

The little boy thought, he had found what he was looking for, "A Gentleman" surprisingly he lives with one. 

And he came up with his questionnaire, so the chat continued.  

"Dad, how would people know who is real gentleman and who is faking around?" the boy again asked a question tricky enough to be answered by his father. 

"Umm, they'll just know!" The father said, scratching his head. And the door bell rang. "I'll open the door" the boy said. "Mommy, you're here" the boy said with excitement" 

Unaware of the deep conversation going on between the father and son, the mother said "why are you still awake? Go to bed".  "No mom, first you answer my question, "Who is a gentleman?" The boy asked the same question to his mother and hoped for a more satisfactory answer than his father gave.  

"A gentleman is a man with ethics and principles." The mother replied. "How come we know who is a  gentleman and who is not" boy asked. 

The mother said, “Remember, you’ll meet many people who speak softly and wear warm smiles, yet are quick to be triggered by opposing thoughts or by being called out for things they do but refuse to take responsibility for. They appear refined and charming, yet beneath it all lies a fragile ego and a pretentious persona, worn for so long that they forget who they truly are. Ironically, these are often the people the world calls gentlemen.”

"You want me to be a gentleman then?" The little boy asked. 

The mother held his little hands and said, "it depends, why you want to be a gentleman. If you want to be praised by people and society, if you want to be better than others or if you just want to be called "A Gentleman" then I would rather have a rude but a real man with character as my son. If you cannot mean what you say and portray, then it's just a little black hole which looks so fascinating at the entry but would never allow you or your loved ones to have peace of mind. But if you want to be a gentleman to acquire the real qualities of one, then you need not necessarily try to be one. Become a man who makes people believe in themselves, a man with enough tolerance for criticism, a man who chooses the right path rather an easy one and a man who never cheats anyone."

"Would I be a gentleman like dad?" The boy askes her mother as he has portrayed his father as a Hero in his mind.

"Either you can be a true Gentleman or like your father. Never both." The mother said in her mind. 

"You will be one, but not like me,” the father replied, masking his discomfort with a smile. That day he realized that a crafted image may hold for a while, but it begins to fade the moment your inner reality can no longer keep pace with it.

"He has always seen a hero in you, hope you won't make him regret that. The lady said to her husband.