[blockquote align=”none” author=””]As a Dutch architect, you might find it strange that I post my voice here. However, social equity extends further than equity within a nation alone. And it all starts and ends with family.[/blockquote]
In this fast society, people tend to care mostly about themselves, and I don’t blame them. In a way, they are forced to live their life that way, just to keep up with expectations.
Because of this, little time is reserved for family because that is where expectations are least present. The beauty however lies in the fact that without expectations, you feel liberated and you can start to do the things you really want. And nobody expects anything else from you. What is better than that? You will be happy and will expect less from others. As a result, you will learn to respect others more and it will end in social equity for everybody.
With family you feel at home. When something bad happens or something ends, they will always be there to fall back to.
I realized the importance of that when the economic crisis started and I got divorced. My three kids were holding me afloat, and my brother, sister and parents were always there for me. I started to imagine what it would be like when I am old and dying, and who would be there next to me… The importance of family.
Now, my mother has cancer and my father suffers from Parkinson’s disease. With the aging of people in general, social healthcare becomes an issue, so I built an extension to their home for them to live in. It will be the same environment they are used to and are happy in, and I can be close to keep an eye on things by living in my parental house attached to it. This way, I can do something back for them.
I keep my family close, so I can do what I want, be happy, expect nothing from anybody and give everybody my respect.