They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. I would go further and say that it takes a whole re-alignment of one's universe to raise a child. Or, maybe for a neophyte parent like me who takes parenthood well too seriously. I cannot put here with much depth what my views to children are, except of what I believe them to be- that they are born out of God[s love, that their creation is not just a meeting of chromosomes, and that their names too, have certain influence on their destiny.
This blog was conceived one night and I just put my daughter down after much struggle with making her sleep. I've had some blogs before, but after forgetting what their passwords were and at worse, lacking the inspiration to write, I gave up. Now who really cares out there what I think about raising a little girl named after some kitchen terms? I have no idea. But parenthood seems interesting to me. And very challenging- more than any job nor any project I've ever handled- because it proves that life indeed is a beautiful, unpredictable journey. My beginnings to parenting- here initially in seven installments- happened too fast I guess, too fast that it almost outran me.
On ChildrenKahlil Gibran
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.
