As I let go of one branch on the tree of life to grab hold of another, it is with a smile that I reflect upon these past two years working for Weyburn This Week.
I belong in my cave now, happily writing, with no clocks in sight.
The unfolding of our lives isn't just a randomly-generated crap shoot! Each of us has an endless ability to intentionally create our lives, yet many people don't even live their lives. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "We are always getting ready to live, but never living."
To me, the only way to live is to go with the flow of nature's cycles. Nature is not structured in boxes, compartmentalized and sterile. Although nature is delightfully orderly, it is also messy, superfluous and rich with fertility. Whether they like it or not, humans are part of this living matrix.
The convention these days is to perpetuate prescriptive methodologies for being a good child, sibling, student, worker, spouse, parent or grandparent. But what if, instead of being a ticket to happiness, these methods are a means of controlling how we relate to one another, communicate with each other, how we eat, play, argue and how we console each other?
From childhood, we are taught how to manipulate situations to get what we want. We must mind our manners, fit in, dot our i's and cross our t's. But when are we ever taught how to tap into our inner well of wisdom, which guides us into our own unique purpose-filled path?
How are children granted opportunities to explore who they are, if they are pushed through systems not designed to celebrate and utilize the individual talents and gifts of each one? Instead of teaching them to fit in, we must teach them to go within, to find their greatness.
Each person, from a young age, needs to be given the freedom to discover his or her dharma, which is their personal expression fulfilling the divine order. If this were allowed to happen, the entire world would experience liberation from its prescriptions - and their abhorrent consequences - within one or two generations.
While it is in innocence and ignorance we make mistakes, it is with wisdom that we choose to do better because we know better. Creating major improvements in the world, however, requires letting go of our old ways. Moving forward also means reviving ancient practices - especially methods of attachment parenting.
As far as I'm concerned, my son came straight from heaven. He is an improvement on my husband and me. Since wisdom comes from innocent perception, he is also my greatest teacher.
How dare we program these new and improved versions of ourselves with outdated, dysfunctional and destructive ways of living in this world?! We are all responsible for revering children and giving them wind beneath their wings, instead of burdening them with harmful family patterns and growth-stunting habits.
In his brilliant poetic work, "The Prophet", author Kahlil Gibran puts it best:
"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable."
So, as a stable bow, I move forward with my life - creatively and prayerfully nurturing, writing to encourage others and to create change. It has been an honour serving Weyburn as a member of the media. I have met so many amazing people and have been inspired enough for an entire lifetime.
I hope that my readers will continue to read my musings at bearwisdomfamily.wordpress.com.
