More Quotes for Parenting

It was near the beginning of my blogging that I wrote about 5 Givens of Parenting (the first two seem to have been lost in cyberspace). Oh well, the second given that I had adapted from David Richo's book— The Five Things We Cannot Change … and the Happiness We Find by Embracing Them—is that things do not always go according to plan.

Here then are two quotes that I feel are appropriate and support this contention.

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
Joseph Campbell, Mythologist and educator

“Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings.”
Arthur Rubenstein, Pianist

Too often we are planning our children's lives such that we miss out on glorious opportunities for the relationships to grow and the unplanned quality times to flourish. This does not mean we do not envision or plan what we would like to happen for ourselves and to some extent our children. Visualising outcomes is a very powerful tool to help us and others realise goals. It's just we should not be tied to the plan and accept what life gives us as an opportunity to further grow and develop.

Both the above quotes remind me of tourists who are behind their camcorders so much that they seem miss the whole adventure.

We as parents sometimes go overboard with our micromanagement of our children. Stop and smell the roses. Take the time to enjoy the moment—planned or unplanned.