Do It Right The First Time

"it is easier to raise strong children than to fix broken men."

       -Frederick Douglass   

This week highlights the toil of the good guardian/ model/mentor.  Whether you were raised by a doting grandmother,two over achieving parental units, a hard working single mom or encouraged by a goal oriented uncle or supportive aunt who has been around the block and back and had "golden life lessons".....I am talking to you. It takes a village to raise strong children. The care and consideration of many is necessary to hone a few skills that carry us a lifetime. Strong children don't lead perfect lives but when they slip they know where to find center. The Bible in Proverbs 22:6 says "teach a child the way they should go and they when they are old they will not depart from it." These words ring true to those who were raised up by strong mentors. The temptations we face as society on a daily basis can lead us to stray from what we know to be right. Some of us say...."Let me live", some say  " Get with it", while still others say," you don't understand me". The wise one knows this is an old song. It is the banter used to get your own way when you don't want to live by a code ... any code. We all go through times where we don't want to muster the effort to keep it together. We want to be FREE, INDEPENDENT, and frankly careless. We don't want to adhere to our values or morals. We know what is right but we just want to relax. We want to have the pressure off for a little...answer to no one.... care about nothing, but the moment and ....well..... let our hair down. Therein lies the rub. If we settle into this selfish abandonment of boundaries ... which by the way helps to keep us  out of "real" trouble, we risk creating a habit that may take more effort to kick than we have the reserve of energy for. Now what people see is the broken man. He is a much more complicated puzzle that requires inclination to change, cooperation to move forward, and sacrifice of selfish pleasures in order to achieve the greater goal.He is someone who must not only analyze his actions but anchor himself to his village in order to come into his own. As he strives to reach the true potential of his best inner self and display the qualities garnered from his best examples. The strong child is a sponge growing thicker with experiences, while the broken man is shattered glass trying to piece experiences together to make a whole. AH!!!! So much easier to hold the sponge and make it useful.  So hard to mend the glass into something to hold. As we leave our mark(LYM)... we must not depart from the good examples during our journey. May we hold fast to the teachings when we are old , for they are the ones that will help to cement a positive legacy.  Until seven suns set.  LYM in ways that honor your village.

-Mama LYM