Listening is the key

Hi guys,

Took a hiatus for a while. Really did a lot of thinking, reflecting, and understanding evolved. So I think it was definately needed.

As we approach the 1 year mark of what I can only deem as silliness, I had much to think about. And it is always a key for growth. So I do not feel either way about the situations that took place there, today.

I do feel a great loss. A certain measure of guilt. But most assuredly, I know who I am and will always be. Liked or not.

I have totally seperated out people in my life. We only get one life. And I have always done what is best for the greater good of the people I was surrounded by.

I read an article that was anonymously written and it hit the nail on the head for me. I'm placing here for me to reread later on when I feel the need to have words of wisdom. It rings true for me. It states:

We live a culture where correction often times feels like an attack. Where feedback, or even critisism brusies the ego instead of shaping the person.

And if we can not be corrected without being offended, we can not grow. We faulter into protecting our pride at the full expense of personal growth and positive progress.

That is why this is a lesson that should matter so much to our children, but it has to START with the parents.

When children watch us own our mistakes instead deflecting; when they hear us say "you are right, I could have done better there", instead of scrambling to gather excuses; when they see us recieve guidence without bristling, they will start to learn that correction is not meant to be humiliation; it's meant to be refinement.

Discernment matters too. Because not every opinion carries wisdom. Not every piece of advice deserves action.

Growth does not mean obeying (or ignoring) every voice. It means you have to listen, to weigh the differences, to consider stratigic outcomes of each possibility, and then choosing wisely what you want to carry forward, to pass along while teaching your children how to handle these "attacks".

Correction given with care is not a threat - it is a gift. And advice, even when it does not fit into a certain box, can sharpen your perspective if one is willing to hear it WITHOUT OFFENCE.

That is a skill worthy of passing on. Because children who grow up seeking feedback as an opportunity, not condemnation, will always have the freedom to keep evolving into more of who they are meant to be.

And here is where I added:

Enlightened, with forethought as well as the ability to correct course when situations make you want to scream to get out. These children will learn to view things with a positive approach verses a negitive one. They will always choose productively and not retrospectively; and learning the differences as they go.

But all of it starts with the parents. To stop feeling like you are personally attacked all the time. See it through a lens for whatever "it" is. Start a better path for your children. Show them how communication works. How listening works. Stop the cycles of cultural onslaught. Be that change!