I want my children to have something that gives them what wisdom I can sum up from my experience in my life. I find that I tend to talk too much when I am trying to give them my best so they can be their best. I have become more sensitive to the glazed look in their eyes when they have reached maximum capacity. Maybe if I leave them tomes of material on here they will benefit from it one day when they are able to handle the "10 lbs of potatoes in a 5 lb bag" syndrome I commonly fall prey to? How will you infuse your children with the knowledge they need to be a good citizen, a good neighbor and a beneficial member of society? Will you teach them how to skin a deer or will you regale them with the benefits of splitting the atom? Have you read what Robert A. Heinlein wrote about what we should know to be prepared for life?
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.” |
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Sometimes I think that one would need several lifetimes to become even mildly proficient at that list...but maybe we spend too much time on things that don't matter versus those things that do? How do you spend your time? Are you happy with how your past looks in the rear view mirror or do you put blinders on so that you don't have to look back and let it overshadow the present? You can change and you can let that change become the guiding light for the next generation. I believe that the way to change the world for the better is to let God change you with your active obedience and guide your children in the same path.
The other day I spent some time with some younger female friends of mine. They were lamenting the dearth of marriageable material in the opposite sex. Their complaints focused on the lack of anyone their age (mid 20's) that could "do anything." Evidently most of the males of our species in the US can wield a Wii remote with the precision of a Jedi Master but are completely incapable of changing the oil in their own car. Their solution was to look to older men who still knew how to do some of things that their fathers had taken the time to show or give up. It made me wonder...how do I make my son into a paragon of male virtue and virility?
Improve yourself. Improve others. Ciao.
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