The many levels.

the best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up....
Hayda Yasmine Hartmann (facebook)

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Gerald's moving story spoke to me on many levels. Who are we to judge a man's life? I think that is why we are taught to love the criminal but to "hate" the crime.

People only change when they want to change. That is an immutable fact. They cannot be forced into changing. It just doesn't work. And the best way to help anyone change is to tell them the truth.

(Caveat: But they can be broken so we wont call that change here.)

And so lets return to chess. We are in a highly competitive sport where seeing the truth is paramount to success.

So why do we get upset when it is said that the seniors need to buck up? That we should not manufacture numbers. That we should train harder and smarter. That we need basic rules of conduct and strong leadership.

That it is not ok for our juniors to apologise to ghosts. The only people who should engage toyols are mediums and ghostbusters.

Why do we tell our seniors that they are great when they take pathetic steps like playing in the veterans before they represent our Country for SEA games?

We cannot be great if we continue to run from the truth. It is not for us to change anyone. That power we do not have. But it is within our power to tell them the truth. Then it's up to them.

Can we do that?