Dedication: An Excerpt on Honorable Parenting from The “Perfect” Parent
We get no awards for parenthood, even when we do it well. It’s not something we get paid for. It is a voluntary position, and volunteering for a lifetime of anything deserves a standing ovation. But to volunteer for a lifetime of responsibility for raising another human being… Now that is worth honoring again and again and again. The only one who understands the depth of that kind of dedication is a parent – you.
You are dedicated to guiding your children and shaping them to be responsible adults as best as you can. But remember, while you are helping them grow their own wings, you, too, are growing as a person and a parent every day. You are devoted to this cause because you love your children.
Vedanta, the philosophical potion of the Hindu scriptures, says that that love and devotion are the same in their nature but differ only in direction. In other words, I can say I love my kids, but I am devoted to parenting them. I can love them just the way I am, but to parent them means that I have to access my inner self, my higher self. I have to be aware. I have to be awake. I have to be willing to grow with them and for them in order to keep up with them.
I have to be truly present and willing to consciously practice that love with patience. I will be challenged, tested, and tried, I know – probably more times than I ever imagined. And yet I will rise above the challenges and do what is best for my child.
I also know that things will not always go my way. I acknowledge that what is best for my child might not be the best for me; it might not be the way that I wanted or the way that I had envisioned. And yet, if and when needed, I will go beyond my personal likes and dislikes to make things happen for my child. This has to be devotion. As often as we can, we want to do our best for our children. As parents, we are all devoted to this purpose, and such devotion is worthy not just of respect but even more so of honor.
Read more in The “Perfect” Parent.
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