The Frailty Of Certainty

A friend wrote to me; 'I am glad I have never been brainwashed'.
Amazed at how blithe he was, I wrote nothing back.
I was too much in awe of his surety. In some uncertainty
I asked myself what it meant to be brainwashed.
I realised that at some point I had been.
I had lived in worlds where the words
I had to use automaticallly meant the opposite
of what was commonly understood, and pointing this out
with conviction was deemed to be deeply cynical.
I had seen how my family relationships were malformed,
beyond repair. I also knew that the brainwash
would fade if worked on. If I left it far enough behind
in another life it would rinse out.
To depart from it was the only cure.
I felt wiser for remembering that it did happen
and better still for learning how I had gotten over it.