Gratitude Challenge – Day 7 Today, I continue to be filled with gratitude about my children and my grandchildren. I am so grateful and am so blessed. 1. I am so grateful that many, many years ago I read Kahlil Gibran’s THE PROPHET and thoroughly embraced his “On Children.’’ I completely agree with him when he says, “Your Children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’ longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though are with you yet they belong not to you.” He continues, “You may give them your live but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. ……. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you…. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth….” As a result, my having two children and watching them be the arrows, become themselves and choose their own individual lives has been a delight for me. Yesterday, I wrote at length about a part of Jennifer’s life. Next, I write about my son, Brad. 2. I am profoundly grateful for my beautiful, beloved son, Brad, my first born. At the core, I think we are very much alike and believe in living our lives with honor, integrity and in alignment with our values and beliefs. We are both extroverts who stand up for what we believe in ~~ so it is fascinating and sometimes challenging that we do not share the same political beliefs, religious/spiritual beliefs, world view or perceptions about many things. I love him. I adore him. I honor and respect his choices, his beliefs, his right to his own perceptions (and my right to mine), the fact that he has created the life he wants for himself and that he has essentially make his own dreams come true. He is an exemplary family man, a devoted husband and father, who has often put the needs and dreams of his wife and children above his own. So I am especially proud of him for dedicating himself to working on an additional degree from Dallas Theological Seminary – something he had wanted to do for a long time. He accomplished this while having 2 children in college and while being fully committed to his wife, children, work, church, dog and his extended family. I am most happy that he seems to be happy, successful and fulfilled in his life and in his relationships. He is also a great teacher of mine … I am grateful to have learned so much about life and living by being in a relationship with him and his family. 3. I am grateful I received a nice, newsy email from Brad’s son – Christopher, today. It was great to hear from him and to have him share what has been going on in his life since his graduation from Wake Forest Law School … lots of studying for the Bar Exam, waiting to hear about the results, making decisions about his future, etc. I wish him much love and wisdom as he makes the various decisions that will possibly affect his future and reminded him that if he doesn’t like where one decision leads, he can always change his mind and choose again. The same is true for all of us. 4. I am additionally grateful to and for my grandsons, Tristan and Kalen (13 and 10) who brighten and spice up my week when they come spend Friday afternoons, nights and Saturdays with me. They are each so uniquely funny, delightful, serious, inquisitive, magical, loving and everything! I love being their Nana and am so grateful to their parents for sharing them with me. This is the last day of my Public Gratitude Challenge. While I shall not be publishing my daily “Gratitudes” on Facebook in the future, I shall continue with this practice, privately. I do invite you to try the public Gratitude Challenge …. It does expand one’s awareness of all we have to be grateful for. Thanks again, Leah for urging me to do this. Mahalo to all of you.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 02:05:31 +0000
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