More on parents/children...
A quote from Khalil Gibran that I stole from my friend's Facebook page: Your children are not your children... You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
A quote from Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks (who had recently sat shiva for his mother) on a radio program that a tiger once sent me: When something bad happens, I will not let go of that bad thing until I have discovered the blessing that lies within it... When my late father died... that sense of grief and bereavement suddenly taught me that so many things that I thought were important... external success... all of that is irrelevant. You lose a parent and you suddenly realize what a slender thing life is. And then out of that comes a new simplicity. And that is why sometimes all the pain and the tears lift you to a much higher and deeper joy when you say to the bad times I will not let you go until you bless me.
I'm not ready to share writing about how relevant these ideas are after my most recent communications with my parents and grandparents. But it's all coming together as it should. More soon.
/ like balance /
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