Today I am going to share an excerpt of Chapter Ten of my book- “Embracing the Gift of Parenthood: How to Create a Loving Relationship with Your Children”.
Available: Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as Xlibris.
This is just a taste of the chapter!
Chapter Ten
“Living by Example”
Making play dough with Leilani in preschool
How many aunties get to have their niece in their preschool class?
And now I am still making playdough for my great niece and nephews>
“Teaching preschool was and still is my greatest passion. I hope that I have proven to my daughter that I have worked to attain not only all of my potential, but that I have answered my “destiny call”. “It is important that we lead by example for our children
I Realize
I realize I have a responsibility to be all I can be so you will know I expect you to do the same.
| Quotes: Bertrand Russell once said: “The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live.” Goethe once said: “Wherever a man may happen to turn, whatever a man may undertake, he will always end up by returning to the path which nature has marked out for him.” Anne Frank once said: “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” |
Question:
How do I demonstrate to my child that I feel that I am worthy of the best that life has to offer, that I love and respect myself, that I am capable of manifesting limitless possibilities in my life, and therefore expect the same for them?
Well, I guess the answer to this question is embedded in why I’m writing this book. For years I have promised and been asked to write about what I’m passionate about “children”. My sister Patti and I have had numerous conversations about taking charge of our lives and stepping out on faith to answer our “destiny call”. Everyone in our family has followed in our parent’s path of being of service to others. Three of us are in education and one of us works in national and international health care. It all boils down to working on trying to transform the lives of others to ensure that they have access to a full and meaningful life. As parents we have all had to make what might seem to be sacrifices, but in the final analysis, Great Spirit always seems to make a way to keep His/Her promise to us. Great Spirit sends us here to fulfill our purpose, and we don’t leave this realm until our work is done. So, we have to move forward in our lives and be intentional about seeking ways and opportunities to be all that we can.
My sister Patti and I are under the impression that our children are waiting to see how far we are going to stretch ourselves. They have seen us be successful in our professional endeavors, but they have not seen us step out of the box and try something unorthodox in a very long time. We used to dream up the most fantastic ideas and we actually tried to manifest some of them. Somehow, we distract ourselves by letting our jobs take over. I now understand that this is really an excuse to avoid failure. Oh, my goodness, did this lack of faith really come out of me? How can I support my child’s dreams and destiny call if I don’t believe and actualize my own? How can I expect my child to be confident and adventurous if I don’t try new and different things? Patti said that we are too comfortable, and we don’t want to take risk with our probably false sense of security. I contend that we can do more than one thing at a time. The key is once again balance. You have to prioritize your intentions. You have to put your job or “work” in perspective. I’m blessed, not because I especially love my “work”, but I know that I am doing exactly what “Great Spirit” wants me to do in terms of my “destiny call”. I also know that I’m called to be doing more than what I’m doing. There is the biblical expression, “To those that much has been given, much is expected.” I do not want my child to be one of those so-called “over achievers”. I just want her to be all of who she was designed to be and to contribute what she is called to do in the world.
It seems that if we are living in a sacred space of intention, we will discover new things about ourselves and our gifts. We can choose to ignore those gifts, or we can choose to capitalize on them. Our children need for us to set an example of grasping those moments of challenge and turning them into opportunities to express our genius and creativity. We set the wheel in motion. We raise the bar of what can be done with hard work and determination. They need to witness us living our lives with enthusiasm and energy. This doesn’t mean that we live in a fantasy world of all highs and no lows, but it does mean that we can seize the opportunities to challenge ourselves and compete with ourselves to prove to ourselves that we are “alive” and living life to its fullest!
| Chapter Ten Reflection |
| Exercise: Describe the things in your life that might be holding you back from being all you have the potential of being. Describe what you can do to unload the dead weight of the things that are holding you back from your full potential. |
| Things that are holding me back: | Ways to unload dead weight: |
Just a Taste!
