If it's not too late to include this- A borrowed story.(Preferably printed upside down)
Up is Down
There was once a boy who walked on his hands.
This caused him to see things differently from other people.
He was able to see UNDER things. Things that were close to the earth. Small things. Intimately.
But being different from other children, he knew there was more than one way to look at things.
He didn't mind at all, being different. His life was one adventure after the other.
He had a wonderful time, examining things, finding out how they were made, and how they work.
And though many people who crossed his path were harass and frowning, from his point of view, they appeared to be smiling, and this made him very happy.
But he made people uncomfortable, they thought it was somehow wrong, that the boy should not see things their way. The RIGHT way.
They decided that he should be straightened out. They held a town meeting to determine what could be done.
They called in "Experts".
The doctor said, 'A rare case of deficiency of hypertension and heart palpitation. Lungs peculiarly unclouded, digestive system non-acid. It's obvious this young man is deprived of the manifold tastes, colours, shapes and effects of the assorted patent medicines available, and so widely enjoyed by our population"
The Psychiatrist said, 'A strange instance of psychic equilibrium or well being, highly unrealistic to say the least. An absence of Oedipal manifestations and paranoid behaviour. Obviously, his hate instincts have been suppressed!'
The sociologist said, 'A sad lack of competitive drive, incidents of concern for others, naive trust in human nature, inconceivable perceiving towards the war!'
His teacher said, 'He's always been unusual, he has to paint grass pink! And water purple! He refuses to call a fact a fact! Oh, he's not a bad boy, but with all his questions, who knows how he'll end up?'
His parents said, 'We just don't know how this happened to us. What sort of profession will he have? Isn't there some way to overcome this dreadful condition?'
So the boy was put under therapeutic therapy, given injections, simultaneous hot baths and cold showers, spun centrifugally clockwise, then counter clockwise. Put in traction. Lobotomy, frontal and backward. Given brainwashing, three times a day. Saturated with TV commercials. And red and blue radiation. The treatment went on for a prolonged period.
Finally, the boy stood up, for the first time, on his feet, what he saw, frightened him, because he found, that the opposite view of love, was hate, beauty was ugliness, individuality was conformity, plenty was poverty, understanding was prejudice, co-operation was competition, depth was superficiality, concern was indifference, truth was lies, joy was despair, and peace... was war.
He went into a spin, and landed on his hands.
THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! We're back where we started from! He must be made to see right from wrong!
But the boy, in spite of all the "back to health" conditioning, was adamant.
He said, "If you want me to stand on my feet, you'll have to make some big changes first".
