Shayla and her cousin Connor were just running around like crazy 'wild monkeys until I turned on the camera and then all action stopped. Very funny, not actually, but kind of. :)
-Sent from my iPad
Even though my daughter is four years old and I find myself saying this all the time..... Even though at four life moves quickly with children and of course they grow two inches everyday.... Even though I live with her and see her day in and day out.... You'd think that her growth and development would be less noticeable to me and more so to those that see her less often, but blow me down and stop the Universe on a Dime if this little Sprite doesn't knock me clean out of the water each and every day that I see her little round jovial face peek around the corner and say "Hi Daddy" with a grin from ear to ear. This is So Much Fun!!! A Daily-Evolving Conversationalist!!?? How Cool!!
Parenting is one of those things or roles that we play in life that 'leaves nothing unturned'. --Nothing! I am sure of this even though I have only a few four years of experience behind me. I can tell already that I am undergoing a transformation as a father that will change everything that I perceive and conceive of through the changing of the 'lenses' through which I view the world. This, people, Is Astounding. It's like the last four years of my life have been like a homeopathic tonic through which I can glimpse the future of my life. A future filled with meaning and substance: A good future.
In trying to explain a little of this feeling that I get, I am overcome by the encompassing nature of it all. The majesty and the perfection of this design--the family unit--is incredible! How could something so simple and so basic as the reproduction of our species and our subsequent lives together have so much power? The vitality and love in this arrangement determines the courses of our lives. In our day and age it seems that many single people have underestimated the beauty, fulfillment, joy, love, affection, light, and peace....and once again I'll say Ful-Fill-Ment that comes from having/creating a family. We wait for the 'right' person. Have you ever really thought of that in any kind of depth? What IS that?? The RIGHT PERSON? Sometimes I think that by the 'right person' we mean someone that never gets on our nerves or someone who we think will never offend us. This is someone in our minds who should fill so many personal requirements of our's that we may make it hard even for them to Actually Exist on the Earth plane. We have become so insular in a way that it may make going out and meeting people even harder than it was just ten years ago. Parenting is just so awesome that I want my single friends to enjoy this beautiful experience and to see the transformations that they themselves go through and experience. I wish that fulfillment for them. No, of course parenting is not for everybody. But the funny thing on that note was that was what I used to tell myself, and now look at me! I love it! I really, really do! I would never have thought that it could be so magical, but I am here to tell you that it is.
I am here to say that it used to be the 'undertaking' of a family life and raising kids that used to scare the crap out of me. It was the thought that I would have to answer to somebody and be responsible to one or more people for something. Well, it IS that way, but it's not at all like I thought that it would be. It's desired, actually. The feeling...that feeling....of belonging...has become a really warm sensation to me, if I could describe it in terms of physical sensation. It has a warmth, and this doesn't have anything to do with the physical aspect of having a partner. It's deeper than that. It's part of a companionship element that fills you up. I think that we were 'made' to relate to one another--to be together. We also need space as sovereign people, as beings, and being good friends and partners you give that to each other as well. A whole family is actually designed as an integral unit that sustains and takes care of itself much, I think, like a community does: a larger family. Instead of being something that scares me, I have come to love it. Many times fear is what takes up residence in our minds in place of actual knowledge and experience. It's nice to have fear dispelled by the actual.
Relationships are hard work. Anyone who's been in one for any length of time will tell you that it takes hard work, perseverance, dedication, and commitment to the long term and the day to day to keep them going. Family life is no different, and furthermore there are many relationships all happening at the same time in a family. Everything has to be worked on, gets worked on, gets worked through and you have the opportunity to grow through all of it and that....That is where the Freedom lies.
Being Committed gives you freedom. (Who would've thought??)
Having a Goal gives you freedom and a focus within that freedom. (How come being 'tied down' feels so good?)
Having a Family to be Responsible To and Take Care of gives you Fulfillment and Peace (Expressing your Love feels Great!)
A family is like it's own ecosystem, it's own solar system. Within that system there is a wholeness, a peace, an Intelligence--- that teaches and reveals things to those minds and hearts that they would never otherwise come into contact with: the amazing love and wholeness of Family.
In trying to explain a little of this feeling that I get, I am overcome by the encompassing nature of it all. The majesty and the perfection of this design--the family unit--is incredible! How could something so simple and so basic as the reproduction of our species and our subsequent lives together have so much power? The vitality and love in this arrangement determines the courses of our lives. In our day and age it seems that many single people have underestimated the beauty, fulfillment, joy, love, affection, light, and peace....and once again I'll say Ful-Fill-Ment that comes from having/creating a family. We wait for the 'right' person. Have you ever really thought of that in any kind of depth? What IS that?? The RIGHT PERSON? Sometimes I think that by the 'right person' we mean someone that never gets on our nerves or someone who we think will never offend us. This is someone in our minds who should fill so many personal requirements of our's that we may make it hard even for them to Actually Exist on the Earth plane. We have become so insular in a way that it may make going out and meeting people even harder than it was just ten years ago. Parenting is just so awesome that I want my single friends to enjoy this beautiful experience and to see the transformations that they themselves go through and experience. I wish that fulfillment for them. No, of course parenting is not for everybody. But the funny thing on that note was that was what I used to tell myself, and now look at me! I love it! I really, really do! I would never have thought that it could be so magical, but I am here to tell you that it is.
I am here to say that it used to be the 'undertaking' of a family life and raising kids that used to scare the crap out of me. It was the thought that I would have to answer to somebody and be responsible to one or more people for something. Well, it IS that way, but it's not at all like I thought that it would be. It's desired, actually. The feeling...that feeling....of belonging...has become a really warm sensation to me, if I could describe it in terms of physical sensation. It has a warmth, and this doesn't have anything to do with the physical aspect of having a partner. It's deeper than that. It's part of a companionship element that fills you up. I think that we were 'made' to relate to one another--to be together. We also need space as sovereign people, as beings, and being good friends and partners you give that to each other as well. A whole family is actually designed as an integral unit that sustains and takes care of itself much, I think, like a community does: a larger family. Instead of being something that scares me, I have come to love it. Many times fear is what takes up residence in our minds in place of actual knowledge and experience. It's nice to have fear dispelled by the actual.
Relationships are hard work. Anyone who's been in one for any length of time will tell you that it takes hard work, perseverance, dedication, and commitment to the long term and the day to day to keep them going. Family life is no different, and furthermore there are many relationships all happening at the same time in a family. Everything has to be worked on, gets worked on, gets worked through and you have the opportunity to grow through all of it and that....That is where the Freedom lies.
Being Committed gives you freedom. (Who would've thought??)
Having a Goal gives you freedom and a focus within that freedom. (How come being 'tied down' feels so good?)
Having a Family to be Responsible To and Take Care of gives you Fulfillment and Peace (Expressing your Love feels Great!)
A family is like it's own ecosystem, it's own solar system. Within that system there is a wholeness, a peace, an Intelligence--- that teaches and reveals things to those minds and hearts that they would never otherwise come into contact with: the amazing love and wholeness of Family.
Sent from my iPhone