of flying kites...

i saw the movie "kite runner" last night with a friend. I had no idea what it was about - but a lot of people tell me it's a good story. so, i saw... and it conquered.

It was a good movie.

it actually made me reflect about my life, my friends and who i am now - not as young as i used to be, but not exactly the man i want to be yet. the story made me look into the things i run from; the fears i constantly deny and force other people to bear for me.

it made me think of first impressions, of stereotypes, of honor. In this world, the only thing a man owns is his honor; that is his all. the line kept on ringing in my head. is there still a concept of honor in present in OUR lives? in an era of corruption and instant gratification, could there still be a thread of honor?

in the movie it is also said, "Stealing is the greatest sin; everything else above it is just a variant of stealing. when you kill someone, you steal his life; you steal his wife's right to a husband, his children's right to a father. when you lie, you steal a person's right to the truth."

I think i agree with that. it's just surprising that we try to fool ourselves otherwise. we give it different names, to make it a bit easier to swallow, because we cannot associate ourselves to being thieves: we'd rather just be called liars because everybody's lied, but not everyone has stolen something.

at the end of the film, i felt flawed, and at the same time a bit ashamed. flawed because i plead guilty of "stealing". i count myself in the numbers who try to re-name their sins - and i feel troubled.

Somehow, ignorance of the sin would be at least a simple excuse for it, but in the awareness of it, a person can only do one of two things: continue to ignore it and be a coward, or do something about it. Courage also means standing up for your beliefs - no matter what people say, no matter the circumstance.

"For you, a thousand times over."