It’s commonly proclaimed that as parents our uniting pledge is this…
We all want our children to be happy.
When the truth is…
WE ALL WANT TO BE HAPPY.
It’s far too common for parents to believe our sole goal is to ensure that our children have happy lives. What an impossible to task to set before ourselves, and one rife with potential guilt and shame. In so many other areas of life, it is so obvious to us that we cannot make or force someone into happiness. Happiness naturally bubbles up within us, whenever we are in total acceptance of what is.
I also put forth that as parents we also desire for our children to become ‘happy adults’. A ‘happy adult’ is an individual who not only accepts what currently is and this thereby naturally happy, but also an individual who feels confident in the knowledge that their actions produce reliable and consistent outcomes, and is thereby naturally empowered to create in the world. Essentially, we want our children to enjoy the awesome power that is responsibility.
Combining these two facets, creates a happy and fulfilling life. And as a parent, it makes a far more realistic goal to shoot for.
My main goal as a parent: be a happy, creative, and productive human
(all the while, depending on the truth that if I have working systems, methods, and lifestyle factors that lead to health, pleasantness, and productiveness; my children will have ready access to the same health, pleasantness, and productiveness through using these same systems, methods, and lifestyle factors.)
