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Dr. Thomas Maples VLOG
Parenting: 2 Chase the Light of Values
Inspirational Quote from St. Francis of Assisi
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.
St. Francis of Assisi
Parenting: Down the Rabbit-hole of Wisdom Making
Where do we first become exposed to light? As I ponder this, two sources come up, and yes, both are obvious as is staring out at the daylight itself. The first is God, and the second encapsulates how I see values passed on from generation to generation, those caring parents willing to take just one moment to give their children the lessons needed to help them navigate the rugged terrain we call human nature. Let us take a minute to explore this concept with a little more depth and breadth to the topic.
Nothing on this Earth would prepare us for the shadows of the world save a good parent. When I saw these beautiful words of wisdom from Saint Francis of Assisi, I could not help but reflect upon the vital role of parents in shaping the light that guides their children’s developmental journey forward.
Where is the light, and where is the shadow? That depends on the perspective held, yet it also depends on the eye that perceives its radiance. It is not fully present nor entirely removed from the presence that observes. If you look closely, they interlink at a not-so-perceivable intersection, one blending into the essence of the other. The naked eye cannot perceive that grey area without delineating from a material source that casts a shadow. Yet, nevertheless, few may know the radiance within that being that seems separate from the light and shadow yet is delicately intertwined between both realities.
There is a true radiance to light. It nurtures, much like the primordial imago of the mother. Yet, even if your mother was far from perfect, by reading these words, you were at least nurtured to a degree of health up to the very moment that allows you a possibility to rectify those inner daemons that may need working to find the glowing ember within the soot of baggage carried by the archetypal and personal image. The same goes for shadows cast by the almighty father, whose prohibitive and commanding voice may lead to clouds overwhelming the light source before it is cast.
As parents, it is our job to light the way for our children’s development. We do this by examining our own values and teaching them every step that we can during our parenting journey. However, passing of values cannot be conflicted with the assumption that children will be harbingers of dreams once lost. They are themselves, beings set to cast their own light and, yes, their own shadow’s upon the world. But what radiance there is present if we can use parenting to cast a guiding light for the next generation, giving them the skills needed to determine the pros and the cons present within each path present.
As Jiminy Cricket once understood,
“What’s a conscience! I’ll tell ya! A conscience is that still small voice that people won’t listen to. That’s just the trouble with the world today.”
Jiminy Cricket
That little voice of right or wrong that lies on the shoulders of the giant created is the essence of a single beam of light each one of us as parents must ignite within our children as they learn to navigate the ease and even, yes, the difficulties that life affords. We create this conscience and therefore consciousness by parenting our children’s growing minds through the values we hold dear.
It is difficult to make sense of raising children in a world that warranted doing its opposite, to create dependency versus the true freedom that independence of consciousness creates. While that shadow may create immediate ease, it is only by the continual warming light that we can nurture ourselves into the joy present within our work of works to complete. May blessings find you, my friends, any who find themselves on this journey to advance confidently in the direction of your dreams.
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