Archives for Parenting category
Posted on Mar 07, 2012 under Architecture, Attitude, Compassion, Family Relationship, Giving, Gratitude, Inspiration, Kindness, Lesson in Life, Life, Living, Love, Parenting, Poems, Reflection, Rev Melissa M Bowers, Sacrifice, The Women On my Journey, Unconditional Acceptance, Unconditional Love, Wisdom |
The Women On My Journey was a beautiful and awesome poem which I came across today in Facebook; this poem certainly reminds me of the unconditional love and sacrifices a mother makes for her children from the day the baby was conceived in the womb till childbirth; a long approximately 40 weeks and which must be the longest race any human-being has ever run. No men can ever hope to understand intimately and physically the changes women have to go through during this period. Yet a lot of women also said that pregnancy was also one of the most beautiful experiences they experienced in their lives. I would like to dedicate this poem to all the mothers in the world.
The Women On My Journey
Rev. Melissa M. Bowers
To the women on my journey
Who showed me the ways to go and ways not to go,
Whose strength and compassion held up a torch of light
and beckoned me to follow,
Whose weakness and ignorance darkened the path and encouraged me
to turn another way.
To the women on my journey
Who showed me how to love and how not to live,
Whose grace, success and gratitude lifted me into the fullness
of surrender to God,
Whose bitterness, envy and wasted gifts warned me away
from the emptiness of self-will
To the women on my journey
Who showed me what I am and what I am not,
Whose love, encouragement and confidence held me tenderly
and nudged me gently,
Whose judgement, disappointment and lack of faith called me
to deeper levels of commitment and resolve.
To the women on my journey who taught me love
by means of both darkness and light.
To these women I say bless you and thank you from the
depths of my heart,
for I have been healed and set free
through your joy and through your sacrifice.
_______________________________
Picture from Serendipitous Soul Sister
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 under Attitude, Children, Dorothy Law Nolte, Family, Inspiring, Kids, Lesson in Life, Living Habits, Love, Parenting, Patient, Poems, Reflection |
Children Learn What They Live was a poem on child-rearing written by Dorothy Law Nolte for the weekly family column for the Torrance Herald in 1954. I think all of us have an important role to play in the upbringing of children; it doesn’t has to be our own children, it can be any children who come into contact with us. What do we want them to learn from us?
Children Learn What They Live
If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
Posted on Apr 05, 2011 under Attitude, Children, Compassion, Dyslexia, Everything Happened for a Reason, Giving, Gratitude, Learning from Failure, Life, Love, Parenting, Reflection |
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”
Helen Keller
Just about a week ago, I was discussing with my co-workers turned friends that I just realised – again – that as much as we want to reach out and help everyone, we simply could not reach out and help all. Most people would have the idea that I am talking about people who are not willing to be helped. I agree to a certain extent. However, over here, I am referring to someone who we wanted to reach out and to help and we just do not have the expertise or ability yet.
How did I come to realise it? It was all a magical journey if we would so much as to listen to our inner voice and the Universe.
Just a few weeks ago I was in contact with a potential new student to coach. During the evaluation session with the boy and his parent, I realised the boy may be dyslexic; I came to the conclusion from what the parent described to me and from my personal observation. Although I am not an expert in dyslexia, I was able to read about it from books and from people’s personal dyslexic experience before. Besides that, I had a chance to discuss about it with a parent who has two dyslexic children. And because of her own children, she has started a freelance service to help other dyslexic children.
The challenge was how to put forward what I observed and my thoughts to the parent; especially when not all parents will accept that their children are different. Thus I began cautiously by explaining my observation of their boy and giving them the examples of famous people (Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Whoopi Goldberg, Tommy Hilfiger, John Lennon, Richard Branson, Agatha Christie just to name a few) who are dyslexic.
I also stressed that dyslexia has nothing to do intelligent; it is just a form of learning disability and if we are able to find the key to open up the learning in each of the child, he/she will have great potential. Apparently, they have come across that and they just thought their boy is a little slow in his learning. I wanted to link them up to the parent who are doing freelance service to help other dyslexic children but they weren’t receptive about it.
In the end I took up the challenge to give it a go. My co-worker and I went through one session with the boy and came out totally clueless what we could do to help; it was simply not within our ability and expertise. True to my personal observation, he is a very smart boy. Besides that, he can be very focus. I felt that it would not be right for us to coach him; what he really needs is someone with the expertise to find the right key to help him to learn.
My sincere apology to the parent who was willing to give us a shot. Fortunately, they were very understanding.
Through that one incident, it just dawned upon me that as much as we want to reach out to everyone and to help everyone, there will be time when we have to admit that we do not have the ability yet. However, as Helen Keller said, “… because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” We must continue to do what we can to reach out to people who we have the ability to help. With that say, there will also be time when we have to take up new challenge to stretch our abilities.
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Photo by khattaway
Posted on Apr 03, 2011 under Appreciation, Gratitude, Happiness, Inspiration, Love, Loving Kindness, Mary Rita Schilke Korzan, Parenting, Poems, Reflection, Relationship, Unconditional Acceptance, Unconditional Love |
Read this poem by Mary Rita Schilke Korzan this morning and thought that I would like to share this beautiful poem with you. From Barnes and Noble, it was mentioned that Mary wrote the poem to her mother 24 years ago, thanking her for all she had done as a mother, friend, and role model. She gave the poem to her mother and, a few months later, offered it as a tribute when Mary and her husband were married.
So many wedding guests asked for a copy that Mary included one in her thank-you notes and it just spread from there until it was listed as “Author Unknown,” in A Fourth Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul, which her husband and children gave her as a Mother’s Day gift. This is a reminder to us that no deed, which is done with love and out of love, is ever too small; it surely make a different in another’s life.
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When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You hung my first painting on the refrigerator
And I wanted to paint another.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You fed a stray cat
And I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You baked a birthday cake just for me
And I knew that little things were special things.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You said a prayer
And I believed there was a God that I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You kissed me good-night
And I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
I saw tears come from your eyes
And I learned that sometimes things hurt—
But that it’s alright to cry.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You smiled
And it made me want to look that pretty too.
When you thought I wasn’t looking
You cared
And I wanted to be everything I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking—
I looked . . .
And wanted to say thanks
For all those things you did
When you thought I wasn’t looking.
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