Every Wednesday and Saturday, I would strap my two children into our worn old Cutlass and head towards the beach. Paul was five and Jesse only two. I relished these trips to his violin lessons. There, they would be my captives, at my mercy. These drives would allow us uninterrupted time, where I would have their undivided attention, as we spoke about the world and how it could be. Well, truthfully I talked and they listened, commenting on what they knew (OK, Jesse just chuckled at us).
As we passed the men laying road tar in the heat of a South Florida day, we were reminded about how hard life could be if they didn’t get a good education. We talked about the right of all beings to earn enough money to feed and care for their families. We talked about the dignity of honest work, and all people, no matter who they were or what they did. We talked about good people who make terrible mistakes, and it is what you do when bad things happen to you, that matters.
I spent hours talking to them about my dreams for them and their world. Do I know whether or not it would prove to matter in their lives, in truth I do not.
I can tell you this… it mattered to me. It mattered to me that they knew what I believed to be important. They were my children; they needed to know who I was and what I dreamed of.
Isn’t it just as important to express our dreams to our children, as it is to teach them to succeed in the “real world”? Isn’t it just as important to teach them why it is important to get it right? Isn’t it just as important to define what it is we think is important, so we can teach it to our children? Isn’t it time to remember what we believed the world would be like when we were little? Change begins with us. We hold in our hands the intelligence, compassion and zeal to embrace the future. Shouldn’t we help our children dream about what their futures could be?
It is not enough to make sure our children know the difference between right and wrong. It is not enough to give them good skills. It is not enough to simply prepare them for the world. We must teach them to dream about the future.
So the next time your children are captive in your car, turn off the music, DVD player and your cell phone and tell them what you dream for their future and their world. You will never be sorry that you told your children. You will only be sorry if you don’t.
Peace & Light,
Grace
Comments on: "Talk About Great Things with Your Children…." (1)
Grace,
I had to respond to this post. I spent some time with Leo who is now 5, asking him what he thought he could do when he grows up. I told him I could see him as a Dr as he is so interested in how the body works – asks questions like ” can I still walk if my brain falls out”. Anyway he thought for a long time and decided he wanted to be a karate teacher (he doesn’t even do karate)!