Parenting Blog

"If the only prayer you said in your life was 'THANK YOU', that would suffice." -- Meister Eckhart

"When we experience a sense of gratitude, we give ourselves a dose of mental sunshine.  Suddenly the world seems brighter, and we have more options.  And the greatest thing is that as we experience the mental sunshine of gratitude, we begin to glow with sunshine ourselves.  Suddenly not only is the world brighter, but we are too.  Soon we notice that our lives are full of people who want to be around us because we exude peacefulness, happiness, and joy." -- M.J. Ryan

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have" -- Frederick Keonig

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  The original Thanksgiving spirit was gratitude, celebrated by the pilgrims together with the original owners of this land -- despite the conflicts that later dishonored that spirit. What other celebration is all about gratitude?

Today, I am grateful to you. By taking the time to read these emails, you're expressing your commitment to grow, both as a human being and as a parent. That's hard, even heroic, work. I'm honored to be part of your journey.

Why does parenting matter? Because transforming parenting from control to loving relationships will help more children grow up to be compassionate, responsible, well-adjusted human beings.  Ultimately, whether things change for the better in our world will depend on the quality of the human beings we are creating, every day, in our families. Everything – even, perhaps, whether our planet survives – depends on how we shape the next generation or two of human beings. In a very real way, the future of the world rests on the shoulders of parents.

Thank you for the blessing of your parenting.

This Thanksgiving may you be blessed with radical gratitude
Gratitude for that first moment when you held your child in your arms
Gratitude for exactly who your child is today
Gratitude for the life force pushing him or her to blossom
even if we can't always see that's what's happening.
Gratitude for the help that is always there if you ask, helping you to be the best possible parent for your child
even during difficult moments.
Gratitude even for those difficult moments, that help us to grow
and blossom ourselves, to find new reservoirs of love
inside our own hearts.
Gratitude that your unique child was placed in your arms
To nurture and guide and love.

May your Thanksgiving week be filled with radical gratitude -- and a cornucopia of miracles, large and small.