Our kids, no matter the age, need us to be with them, explaining what makes one thing beautiful and another ugly, why one thing is important and the other trivial, and why this is quite right and that is all wrong. A relationship such as this is what makes the world a better place, one person at a time.
I am reading a book about finding life’s great truths in the humblest of places. The Power of the Powerless is about the lessons learned in a family that cares for a child that has no abilities. The book affirms life in a profound way. What at first seems like a horrible family situation is revealed to be a wonderful place to grow up. Here is an excerpt.
“The more a parent points out things to their children, the more the children will take it upon themselves to select, identify, listen to, see, embrace.
“I was brought up in a house where the extraordinary was always discovered in the ordinary. I learned to appreciate the sound of water slapping against itself because my father, each Spring, took an iron rake and walked to the small stream that divided our property in two. Each Spring he pulled sticks, rotting leaves, and stones up from the water that broke free the flow of the stream. ‘Christopher, listen to the water rushing.’ So I listened.
“Life imitates life. Children do what adults do. If parents are readers, there is a good chance that their children will grow into the reading habit. If parents embrace the enchantments of the heart, there is a good chance their children, too, will laugh.”
Christopher de Vinck, The Power of the Powerless
A local radio station brags that they are “Younger. Smarter. Better.” It’s one of many marketing messages that tells us that grown-ups are “Older. Dumber. Inferior.” Well, as a long-time teacher of 12 and 13 year olds, I can tell you that younger is not smarter and better.
