Dear Q,
Perspective: get it and keep it.
It is so easy for our lives to swallow us up. We become so immersed in our lives and our ways of doing things that it becomes easy to forget, or not even realise that other people do things differently.
Step back. Step out of your life bubble and look at your life and those around you with as much objectivity as possible. Get some perspective. The more you can see, the more perspective you will have. Keep that perspective – visit that vantage point often.
Remember that there is no right way to live; the way you live your life is right for you, and the way others live theirs is right for them. If you are open to how other people live, you can learn a lot from them.
Love always,
Mommy
Most people never learn this lesson, particularly that others lead the life that is right for them. I’m not sure I understand the human tendency to expect others to do it “our way”. Sharing and learning from one another is one thing, expecting is completely another.
As always you remind me of the values I want to teach my boys. Things that we may sometimes think they are too young for. But, of course they are not!
I think that on some level, people want to justify the way they live and need reassurance that they are right. When people live differently, it creates doubt and makes them feel threatened (although, they’d never admit it – if they are even aware of it).
This is the most important lesson to teach our kids, I think, and yet it’s the hardest one for us all to learn. I hope my children don’t experience the self-doubt that I do on a daily basis. Some is okay, I suppose, because we’re human, but I hope they will be confident and strong in their decisions, that they will believe in themselves.
It sounds like you’re already teaching this to your son, so he’ll be ahead of the game!
Stopping by from SITS – Enjoy your Thursday!
Great letter!
I agree with you. We do not live in the moment. Then ten years pass and we wonder what happened to the time.
Mary
Beautifully written! Love it!
Happy SITS Friday
What a great reminder! So glad I stopped by.
Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!
Stopping by from SITS.
Beautiful letter and great advice
love this. happy sits saturday
Another important letter to Q. Something we should all teach our children and try to live by. We all do some form of judgement, it is human nature, but to condem or condone people because of the way they live. Not right, we don’t live with them, we don’t know why they do the things they do… People judge me, I know it, but I say they don’t know what life is like for me and my family, they can’t say what is right or wrong, so I shouldn’t either.
Thanks for reminding us of what we should be living and teaching.
Will you accept a rain-check on a comment? My brain just shifted to neutral…
Hmm… well, I think you just commented!