John, this gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. This, "I tell them that responding in love isn't what we do to be rewarded, that responding in love is the reward because it is the best way to honor being alive—that it is indeed yielding something beautiful in and around us even when we can't see it." This is exactly what I believe. Thank you for laying it out so clearly. ❤️🙏
How do we determine what is truly good and just, versus the apparent characterization of an action at the time? Do we look at the issue narrowly, considering only the immediate impact of the action; do we expand the timeframe and scope of the analysis to include preceding and subsequent factors in the analysis; or do we tap into our inner Zen - "It depends." These questions, and their process-based answers, may exceed the intellectual grasp of our young children but can help us address these issues over time as they grow physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Keeping the gravity of such issues in proper perspective is also important, as one of the ways that help our children consider and weigh the values we seek to instill in them and their responses based on those values. For example, as my children grew up, on the occasions that they appeared to judge themselves wanting or unworthy in some respect due to a classmate's taunt or their own negative self-judgment, we usually started our broader response with the timeworn adage that "it is never fruitful to compare yourself to another: there will always be people who are smarter, richer, more beautiful, and more athletic than you and people that are less so in each of those categories. Those qualities or characteristics do not define us or make us who we truly are - they just provide a snapshot of how we present at that specific time. The more fruitful path to happiness is to discover and hone your own talents the best you can, confident in your own abilities." In my own life, the types of lessons that situate and saturate us in our social context, and which resonate with the moral guidance attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, Marcus Aurelius, Confucius, the Buddha, and others, help me in my continuing efforts to starve the wolves of jealousy, resentment, greed, aggression, excessive pride, tribalism, selfishness and the like that have risen and growled occasionally in my life. I have also realized that our personal journey is important to the formation and substance of our children's journeys - we teach them, and they learn, far more by our actions than our words. It was certainly true for me as a child - I have no doubt that it has been true for my children as well.
This is a tough one! I want to live my life; love, hope, joy, kindness, tenderness of spirit, tougher than steel, open to wonder and nature, so much so that it pisses out people who don't have a clue what real love is. It their loss.
I needed to tell this to the child inside myself. And the parent that I am is feeling older than ever. I am having a hard time reading your font. The bold type blurs together a bit - maybe letter spacing could be tweaked? I wonder if I'm the only squinter here behind my reading glasses...
John, this gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. This, "I tell them that responding in love isn't what we do to be rewarded, that responding in love is the reward because it is the best way to honor being alive—that it is indeed yielding something beautiful in and around us even when we can't see it." This is exactly what I believe. Thank you for laying it out so clearly. ❤️🙏
How do we determine what is truly good and just, versus the apparent characterization of an action at the time? Do we look at the issue narrowly, considering only the immediate impact of the action; do we expand the timeframe and scope of the analysis to include preceding and subsequent factors in the analysis; or do we tap into our inner Zen - "It depends." These questions, and their process-based answers, may exceed the intellectual grasp of our young children but can help us address these issues over time as they grow physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Keeping the gravity of such issues in proper perspective is also important, as one of the ways that help our children consider and weigh the values we seek to instill in them and their responses based on those values. For example, as my children grew up, on the occasions that they appeared to judge themselves wanting or unworthy in some respect due to a classmate's taunt or their own negative self-judgment, we usually started our broader response with the timeworn adage that "it is never fruitful to compare yourself to another: there will always be people who are smarter, richer, more beautiful, and more athletic than you and people that are less so in each of those categories. Those qualities or characteristics do not define us or make us who we truly are - they just provide a snapshot of how we present at that specific time. The more fruitful path to happiness is to discover and hone your own talents the best you can, confident in your own abilities." In my own life, the types of lessons that situate and saturate us in our social context, and which resonate with the moral guidance attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, Marcus Aurelius, Confucius, the Buddha, and others, help me in my continuing efforts to starve the wolves of jealousy, resentment, greed, aggression, excessive pride, tribalism, selfishness and the like that have risen and growled occasionally in my life. I have also realized that our personal journey is important to the formation and substance of our children's journeys - we teach them, and they learn, far more by our actions than our words. It was certainly true for me as a child - I have no doubt that it has been true for my children as well.
This is a tough one! I want to live my life; love, hope, joy, kindness, tenderness of spirit, tougher than steel, open to wonder and nature, so much so that it pisses out people who don't have a clue what real love is. It their loss.
Jesus said I am the way truth and the light It is still the best thing to hold onto
I needed to tell this to the child inside myself. And the parent that I am is feeling older than ever. I am having a hard time reading your font. The bold type blurs together a bit - maybe letter spacing could be tweaked? I wonder if I'm the only squinter here behind my reading glasses...