As I see my son attend his first few days of school, I think about the life lessons I really want him to take with him to the future. For my husband and I the most important lesson we would want our kids to learn is simply being themselves. Right off the bat you might think, "It's so cliche", yet it's the state of being hardest to achieve.
You might think there surely must be other things you'd want for him? My answer is positively not....that is all. Let me illustrate. If you look at people around you who are truly happy and radiate tranquility and peace in their eyes, their actions, interactions and their demeanor, they are the ones who are simply themselves. They love themselves, flaws and all. No matter their economic situation, job status...etc, they are truly happy in their own skin. Now! Everyone else you meet....like the repeatedly rude people, the people who for whatever reason do not greet you in the mornings, the ones who muster out fake compliments or unnecessary comments, the ones who abuse their power, all those people are struggling.....no matter their economic situation....they are struggling and suffering minute by minute.
In being a mom I try hard not to put on the proverbial "mom hat" in which all things mommy-like are expected of me.....all those layers of expectations can get your mind muddied real fast, pull one in all directions and cause all sorts of suffering. When we cling hard to the hard and fast learned roles of "mother", "friend", "daughter", etc, invisible strings of expectations start to build.
A good example of this is my new job. For the first time in my twelve-year teaching career I find myself a mom of a child at a school and a teacher within the same walls. At first, I felt a sense of panic and thought I needed to play two very separate roles in order to keep those 2 worlds from getting messy. I worried that when I talked to other parents I needed to decide which role I would play. Yet, meditating and in trusting that all great solutions are simple and common sense, I came to realize that I need only be who I am.....that is the continuity; the common thread.
I aim daily to just be me and in being me I wish to allow others to just be themselves too.
Have a blessed day.....
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