Auto Parts for Brains

After a long wait, the boxes were finally opened and all of Muggle-dom held their breath as the most anticipated installment in the life of Harry Potter was made available to all. This is perhaps the most anticipated book for the year, marking the end of a saga that has captured the imagination of adults and youngsters alike. The last book was shrouded with so much secrecy and mystery, that it made loyal followers drool in anticipation of the thrilling conclusion of the life of their most adored boy wizard.

After reading the book, I cannot help but look back to the years I have stuck with Harry. From a frail skinny boy in overgrown sweatshirts, he has transformed and was given life to become one of the most mature characters in the history of literature.

After seven books that get thicker by the year, I racked my brains (which I must remind you is made up of auto parts) out thinking of the things in the book that I learned. I started the task by listing randomly, things that have affected me in reading the book. And though I admit to be the last person in the earth to possess the eloquence to write a decent book review, here they are. The ten lessons in life I learned from the Harry Potter Saga.

10.  “To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.”

In the last book especially, I appreciated how JK Rowling views death. She did not portray it as an end, but a temporary parting between friends. In all instances, people grieve the loss of companionship rather that the loss of the person. Death did not present itself as with finality but rather as a temporary thing. Her views of the afterlife are also very apparent. These books, with all the death in them is actually a good book to use in teaching children about the concept of dying. It approaches the topic with seriousness but with a great deal of positivity.

 9.  “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

There are no perfect characters in Harry Potter, nope, not even Albus Dumbledore. The seven books show us that, ultimately, what we become boils down to the choices we make. Sometimes, it is not a question of what you can do but if you are willing to do that which is right. The saga teaches that even people of great skills can make the wrong choices and that even if one is downright clumsy on something, they can rise to be so noble.

 8.  “Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.”

We all make mistakes. Nobody has a perfect record. The books teach us that no matter how big the mistakes you did before and no matter how people make it hard for you to change, you can choose to be better. Snape, has just become my new favorite character. I regretted the many times I wished someone killed him already after book 6. I have just been taught a lesson in forgiveness and choice. Knowing this fact will give us the patience to live with the “Rons” and the “Longbottoms” in our lives, and to forgive ourselves when we err.

 7.  “Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.”

There is always a room for a hero. We need heroes, I think, these days. Not those people who stupidly do things and die trying. What we need to have these days are people on a quest for something noble. Nobility is an act that is slowly being made extinct. The book teaches that noble deeds can come from the strangest places, even from a dirty elf that lives in a cupboard or someone who is seen by many as a worthless coward.

 6.  “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

In the end, it all boils down to what you DO. In all the books, plans go wrong, unexpected things happen and so fast safety and certainty crumbles. We see though that acting on what one conceives and know to be right makes all the difference. Dreaming is good, but one has to learn to live that dream in the reality we live in. In the final book, Albus Dumbledore learned that it does not give a person the joy he wants if he achieves a dream only to find that he neglected the people around him whom he loves.

We are also taught that we cannot let our dream take the better of us.

 5.  “I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules,” said Dumbledore. Ron opened his mouth in horror. “Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words.”

Admitting one’s mistake and eating one’s words is one of the bravest thing a person can do. I wonder how peaceful the world would have become if we learn to say the simple phrase I am sorry or to not stubbornly stand by a mistake. The trio of Ron, Hermione and Harry has been with each other for so long that they have rubbed each other the wrong way many times. Still, the ability to say sorry and admit mistakes has made their friendship stronger. Harry has also at many instances retracted things he has thought of or spoken of about people after learning more from them and their intentions.

 4.  “Harry, I owe you an explanation,” said Dumbledore. “An explanation of an old man’s mistakes. For I see now that what I have done, and not done, with regard to you, bears all the hallmarks of the failings of age. Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young…and I seem to have forgotten lately.”

The biggest mistake people make, and they always make this is to “forget to remember”. Many times, we fail to learn from our past and we end up doing the same mistakes over and over again. Empathy can also be a very good thing. The pensieve, the sharing of Voldemort’s thoughts, the details on all the characters have taught me that knowing people and feeling for them, not judging them, is a very important skill to learn. Harry grew with what he learned. The ability to sympathize has made him a more mature character and has helped him make correct decisions throughout his struggles.

 3.  “You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”

Its not where you start, but where you decide to end up. From the bottom of the stairs, Harry ended up as a hero, respected and hailed by many. Neville, with his bad past has earned the reputation of being a leader and the bravest of Dumbledore’s Army. The characters in the story also teaches us that being born in a predicament does not give anybody any excuse to not make something great of themselves.

 2.  “It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated.”

There are some things in life that we just have to accept will be there to live with us. There are some things that we will have to struggle for everyday of our lives. A moment of letting our guard down will largely determine whether we win or lose this battle against ourselves. Hardships come and go at Potter’s life but he never gave up.

 1.  “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.  Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.” 

The moment you sought power is the moment you have stepped away from being worthy to posses it. Albus Dumbledore has become one of the best figures in the Wizarding world after he decided that power is not something he can play or tempt himself with. Sometimes, greatness is thrust upon people, and more often than not, those who did not pursue it find themselves being better at it than those who have sought it. The latter usually never reach it or fail to magnify when they do.

Looking back, I can say that those seven years of sticking with Harry has taught me lot, being the clumsy magic-less Muggle that I am.