“Children are like wet cement whatever falls on them makes an impression.” Haim Ginott
“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” Charles R. Swindoll
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Frederick Douglass
“Every child you encounter is a divine appointment.” President Emeritus of Compassion International
“The soul is healed by being with children.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“Children make your life important.” Erma Bombeck,
I wish all who read this a very Happy New Year. Being the season of love and family I really wanted to focus on the family because we all have families in one form or another. From what I can surmise we all have varying degrees of love as well as condemnation for these individuals. These are likely the people who teach us life lessons. Of course these teachings may be taught in a gentle or cruel manner but regardless we can learn from these encounters and move on, or allow them to slip away unobserved.
Somehow I know this all ties in with love and family. Most people will admit that the one thing they want most in the world is love yet they don’t comprehend how much time and energy they place on other things that are far from love. Somehow there is a great need to get back to a happier and more peaceful place that surrounds us with love and demonstrates in the contrast, how far off course we have actually traveled.
The world desires are luring all of us as they profess to cure our unhappy mood and our overburdened life. They are like the charlatans that promised cures for our ailments with something within a bottle. Most of us are desperate enough to believe. The rest of us want to believe and fight the urge to go off the track. Somehow it appears we must find what it is we truly want out of life. It is surface thinking to imply we want a vacation or money or friends or fame.
We can view our lives in fast forward
Like watching a movie on a screen we can view our lives in fast forward to discover that the vacation was short-lived and not as exciting or interesting as we had perceived it would be. The money could not buy the person we desired to marry, health that we yearned for nor the life we envisioned. The friends that manifested were quick to desert us when we were in need of a real friend and were only happy to enjoy spirited days of jokes and parties. Fame is truthfully as fleeting as the passing day or night. There are always new heroes and idols to follow. I wonder at those left behind because after you have been considered immortal how does one return to mortality.
We are all born and die alone yet the support of others we love and who have loved us is invaluable. Many times our endless search of chasing worldly attractions usually results in defeat and remorse while draining our spirits. In our search for the false, We sometimes leave behind treasures worth keeping found in family life.
A lesson that was tossed in the garbage
Some of us are never even aware of the mistakes we have made in losing or ditching these people. Perhaps family members anger us to the point of our desire to run away. The will to receive understanding from every encounter with others, whether it is good or bad will not happen. In the process, we lost possibly a genuine love and a huge lesson that was tossed in the garbage.
In my own life, I have learned that losing your temper and hurting others emotionally and physically causes deep scars and memories you would prefer to whitewash. I questioned the lesson until one day I discovered it helped me to gain a greater understanding of tolerance and patience with others. It taught me the fragility of children caught in these nightmares with no alternatives but to endure.
I suppose the hurts teach us the power of maintaining our goals for a very long time. Most importantly it taught me the importance of love and how powerful it can be. Without the love of family one is left with facing a harsh world with only courage and strength as their friends. No one can survive if love is not instilled within this mix A person is an empty vessel waiting to be filled when love has not entered it.
This is the crossroad between picking what will elevate you or what will bring your downfall. If we don’t pay attention we likely will make a poor decision. Experiencing sickness as a child makes us appreciate good health as well as the gentle care of our bodies. Understanding people living in poverty sends us a message of support and compassion for others. When a person lacks the simple items of life they yearn for what so many others take for granted.
Coming to terms with difficulty requires reflection
Those who lose loved ones experience such a rupture within their lives that it can become difficult to move forward with their lives. Others who never had the family life due to one circumstance or another are left unfulfilled and dissatisfied in their functioning. Coming to terms with any difficult happening requires mounds of reflection and discernment regarding what we can and cannot change.
A mother-in-law who fights with her ex daughters-in-law unwittingly brings down her own demise in a lost relationship with her grandchildren. Women who blame a whole family when there is a divorce basically shut out all of the love and support of family members. No one is a winner and everyone is a loser but the young kids caught in the middle are the crushed and ruined survivors. It is truly devastating to kids.
Kids are similar to dogs in their unconditional love. They love most everyone and they forgive most anything. A child beaten daily will forgive the beater. I don’t know if we could find one adult who would do the same for another adult.
A couple on Christmas day refused to allow their very young children to open their gifts because the kids had been arguing with each other. They were told Santa said they had to wait for not being “Good”. They were “bad” and had to wait. The kids were accepting this with love and anticipation for a better tomorrow. How young the kids were for such a harsh lesson. One child might lament the horror when they achieve adulthood and tend towards leniency while the other child might seek a sense of revenge by repeating the harsh punishments they themselves endured.
Most people have no idea the sadness they cause
People who go to extremes to provide a happy occasion are left with ungrateful attendees and a heartache of questions about what went wrong and why. Likely they only wanted everyone to enjoy the day but sometimes others enjoy bringing negativity to the occasion. I believe most people have no idea the sadness and ruin they cause and don’t do it on purpose.
If we can see a pattern then perhaps it is time to stop even our own self-pity and begin thinking about the damage we do to each other and to our children who are the most innocent victims. At times we are so intolerant of each other that we must jeopardize the good times because of our hidden negative agendas. We all have our secret aches and pains, defeats and victories. If we want family and love to be brought to the forefront of our lives again then perhaps it is time to let go of the me attitude and embrace the idea of mindfulness of others.
The man who is upset that his wife gained weight or does not have a figure like a girl in a magazine is living in a false world. The woman who wants her husband to provide her with more material gains is trapped in a make-believe world. These are the world’s mind games and we are trapped in that world when we harbor such ideas.
We profess to be independent in our thinking yet we are told what is good or bad, beautiful or ugly, strong or weak, intelligent or ignorant, and what we should even desire or want in our lives. Anyone who diverts from this path is considered different and sometimes ignored or ostracized. This difference is actually freedom at its core. What is not independence is following the crowd away from what is truly important in our lives. At those times our integrity may be at risk. I see individuality as being stronger than the enticing crowd and following your heart.
Think before speaking
Accountability is hard to accept but we are responsible for instant decisions made without thought. Words and actions cannot be taken back and are so far-reaching. The psyches are injured and hard to repair. We should think before speaking or acting and be sorry when we have injured another. Then we would gain a loving world.
Our encounters are engraved on our souls. None of us know where another has been or what pains we bring with us. Each incident has taught us a lesson and has the capacity to stretch us beyond what we currently are. That is why some of us can easily state we understand something and forgive it while others of us can’t muster the courage or perhaps have not stopped to consider such an occurrence.
If we look hard enough at life the truth guides our way. Reflecting on our lives along with the lessons brings us to a greater understanding of things we were not able to comprehend before our own hurts and pain. Somehow the more pain endured along with the injuries, the greater the capacity to forgive and support others in need. This is where our most precious devotion must be concentrated.
Strong families create strong bonds of love
Kids require guidance and love. Acquiring the necessary skills to regain our accountability and responsibility towards our children enhances our lives in ways that can’t be explained. Suffice it to say that strong families have the power to create strong bonds of love and acceptance. If we can’t devote love to the most important creations of the world, our kids, then the world will simply fold into nothing. Love family and children make the world a beautiful place that it is. Unless we see and consider this actuality, the kids will continue to be second-rate citizens and people will continue to selfishly look to their own needs while they compromise their children’s wishes and requirements.
The search for senseless gratifications of all conceivable kinds is a quick downfall. Most of us already have the things in our lives worth having and which can’t be replaced. Appreciating that as a truth causes love to ceaselessly follow us and bloom wherever we go. Husbands and wives should be each other’s cheerleaders. Siblings should support appreciate and love each other, parents should discover the value and priceless gift of their children, and grandparents should offer love at all times and without assessments. In all of these relationships perhaps we should dismiss all of the judgments.
I would never rejoice in having problems but I find myself taking the lesson from each difficult situation I have had to endure. Each of us has a life to live that is sometimes worrisome. If we reach out to others with love it might make our lives a little bit easier to endure. If I can stop with the accusations and assumptions of others perhaps I can make my life easier and the life of another. I now want to ask myself if my life has meaning rather than if I am happy. The meaning of having people in my life makes my life full of purpose. If it is only to make another smile with lightheartedness, then I would rather remember a day a child smiled rather than a day they feared.
“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” Oscar Wilde
“When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments tenderness for what he is and respect for what he may become.” Louis Pasteur
“Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.” Nelson Mandela
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” Albert Camus
“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.” Sai Baba
