January 24, 2025 TEACH! TEACH! TEACH!
"Instead of buying your children all the things you never had, you should teach them all the things you were never taught. Material wears out but knowledge stays.- Bruce Lee
Listen to this meditation on audio:
Believe it or not, you and I have a tremendous amount of power to change this world. What we do individually can have a lasting and profound effect on how much good or evil prevails. Think about it. The movers and shakers, the influencers and the opinion makers were all once children. Which way their life went, whether up or down left or right, good or not so good, all depended on what kind of interactions they had with authority figures. As adults, we can have an enormous impact on the children in our sphere of influence. Each child is learning from each adult they interact with. Those closest to them have the greatest impact, but each one of us, no matter how close or distant, potentially paints a large or small portion of that child's view of the world and how it operates. This means that anytime we are in the presence of a young person, we should be on our best behavior. Children around adults may not say much, but their inquiring little minds don't miss a thing. They hear the tone of our voices as we interact with others. They see the expressions on our faces as we talk with friends or foes. As adults, then, we need to be keenly aware we are painters on the lives of our children. What we do, and say, colors their picture of the world and their place in it. Constant exposure to profanity and disagreeing voices, paints an ugly picture of the world, creating timidity and insecurity in their young developing minds. It's small wonder that our children are so hateful and hurtful on social media. They have learned how the world works from adults. The importance of good role modeling by adults needs to be resurrected. It's not our children that have gone to the dogs, it's us. It will take us individually and collectively to avoid assimilation into the prevailing hostilities of our grown-ups and unfortunately many of our leaders in politics, in sports or in business. It is individuals who have escalated the air of hostility that exists today. It will be courageous, caring individuals of character to step up and do what is right rather than what is popular. Our children are watching us. We simply must do better.
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