I came across this quote yesterday:
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
—William Martin
It’s from The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents, but it resonates with this octogenarian. The little kid in me loves it.
November 3, 2023
I love it! And it is so true!!
🙂
I love it, too. When my brothers and I were in high school, one of our classmates committed suicide because he felt he couldn’t live up to his parents’ high expectations. How much better his life would have been had his parents followed the advice above.
Yes. A lot of kids are feeling that pressure nowadays.
What a splendid world this would be if these words were instilled in more parents’ disciplines.
Those last two lines are wonderful.
Yes. 🙂
Me too.
🙂
Lovely.
🙂
That quote is perfect. I totally agree with it.
🙂
this might be my most favorite quote ever! it is so true, I LOVE IT! ordinary life seen as extraordinary because we see it through the right kind of looking
It’s good to be reminded when we forget to look. 🙂