"Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
You will have to constantly contend
with the pressure for ever more,
and ever bigger,
the culture seeks to impose
on your children
and you.
It takes courage and discipline
to go slow,
live simply,
and see clearly.
But the rewards are great.
What ordinary thing can you do together today?"
As a kid, I was always looking for magic. I believed in everything, and longed for all of the fairy tales and other fiction stories I read to be real. As I grew up I felt this must be a sign of my discontent, and proof of the "fact" that I did not, in fact, belong anywhere. As I have actually matured I see now that this longing, this imagination, on my part has given me the insight to look on the events and trappings of everyday life as anything but ordinary. This has emboldened me to pursue the path I always wanted, that my elders often scoffed at in the pressure they placed on me to achieve. I have a family, and simple work to do. It may not be glamorous, but it is enough. And in this world, so deprived of justice and filled with pain, it is indeed extraordinary to have--or better yet, to be--enough.
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
You will have to constantly contend
with the pressure for ever more,
and ever bigger,
the culture seeks to impose
on your children
and you.
It takes courage and discipline
to go slow,
live simply,
and see clearly.
But the rewards are great.
What ordinary thing can you do together today?"
As a kid, I was always looking for magic. I believed in everything, and longed for all of the fairy tales and other fiction stories I read to be real. As I grew up I felt this must be a sign of my discontent, and proof of the "fact" that I did not, in fact, belong anywhere. As I have actually matured I see now that this longing, this imagination, on my part has given me the insight to look on the events and trappings of everyday life as anything but ordinary. This has emboldened me to pursue the path I always wanted, that my elders often scoffed at in the pressure they placed on me to achieve. I have a family, and simple work to do. It may not be glamorous, but it is enough. And in this world, so deprived of justice and filled with pain, it is indeed extraordinary to have--or better yet, to be--enough.
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