How do we take a series of books that has been a best-seller for over a decade and dive into what is right and what is wrong, the dos and don’ts? Well, we don’t. It is not about an in-depth analysis of the history or literary value of JK Rowling’s most successful work, but about what learnings we can assimilate to our own characters or focus on them in case we feel that we have already assimilated them, through of simple and relevant examples from the books.
Love
The most important lesson, and rightly so, from the book is that the power of love diminishes any curse, any negative outburst, anything that tries to dominate it. Albus Dumbledore’s constant reminders to Harry that the fact that he can love is proof that he has powers greater than what Lord Voldemort says. As we see throughout the story, the fact that Harry was protected by his mother’s love made it impossible for the Death Eaters to touch him, and as we move towards the end, we see how powerful love and sacrifice become, already be the eternal of Snape. love for Lily, or Harry’s great sacrifice for all wizards. The point here is simple, in our daily existence, we come across many crossroads where we must choose. Choose between being angry with someone / something and forgiving, between finding fault with someone and appreciating their little tasks, between selectively loving someone and loving them unconditionally. All options lead to the same path, finding your capacity to love and seeing your happiness multiply increase in due course.
All friends matter
With Ron and Hermione by his side, Harry always felt like he could move mountains, and most of us feel euphoric, strong, and indefatigable when surrounded by our friends. It doesn’t matter if you have two friends or twenty. What matters is whether you respect all friends equally. Harry considered Ron his best friend, even though Ron abandoned him on at least two important occasions, once during the Triwizard tournament in Book Four, and once (the most serious) when they were hunting horcruxes in Book Seven. Both times, Hermione was left with Harry rock solid and truly trustworthy. So why is Ron still Harry’s best friend? Well, the diversity in the characters of different friends brings out the best in your own character. When Ron wasn’t walking away from Harry, his laid-back personality made him much funnier than Hermione, and Harry appreciated those moments, they highlighted the lighter nature of his character. Hermione, on the other hand, always ready to help, a library on the move all by herself, brought out Harry’s more serious nature, the part of his character that outshone everyone else due to instincts and nerves. This shows that all kinds of friends are essential and that we should treat all of them with the same respect.
Amiability
These kinds of ties to the first takeout. Well, if you are not kind, you cannot love. However, in the context of the story, we are talking more about the kind of kindness one needs to show towards those who are socially inferior. Dumbledore said: Sirius should have been nicer to Kreacher, and he was right. If Regulus hadn’t treated Kreacher kindly, he would never have saved the locket from going to the trash, and Harry’s trio would never have been able to track down the lost Horcrux. Similarly, in our lives, we come across various situations where we are again faced with decisions about how we should behave with our helping hands, such as our cooks, our drivers, our security guards, etc. Always treat them with sincere kindness, there will come a time when what has happened will surely return.
There are many more takeaways from the book series, but I’ll leave them for an actual book review later.