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Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Posted on October 31, 2011 - by pcmccullough

Tune in or Logon to Paulette Costa and Patricia Raskin on WPRO Radio

Posted on September 5, 2011 - by pcmccullough

Teach your children well … then trust that you did

 

Back in 1973 a friend gave me a copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. You may have read it. If not, you’ll surely want to. It was originally published in 1923, and in 1969 it was in its fifty-eighth printing. The Prohpet is one of those books that never go out of print … a bible of sorts. It certainly became mine.

I was pregnant with my first child at the time the book was given to me. Young and unaware, I awaited motherhood with a mixture of naiveté, innocence, and traditional values; and like my parents and in the tradition of theirs before them, I would be devoted to my children and they, in turn, would be at my side, or less than a 15 minute drive away. My friend Maryann had dog-eared page 17, where The Prophet speaks to the crowd “of Children.”  I read it then read it again and then again. I read it over and over working to grasp the message of the wise Prophet. 

My role became clear. Today as I listen to moms and dads stress over their children going off to school whether it’s kindergarten or university, I want to hand them a copy of The Prophet and tell them it’s okay.  They know what you’ve taught them (or not). They will take their experiences and traditions and build a life, their life.  We are catalysts for our children’s futures. Guide them, give them love, teach them values then be confident when you send them out into the world to grow into their own they will build from the foundation you laid.

Page 17 reads:

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

So He loves the bow that is stable.”

Posted on August 10, 2011 - by pcmccullough

How … Who … Why …? What does it matter?

Balancing Thought #21:

You don’t always have to know the reason …

Too often people become absorbed in the “how” “why” and “who” of a situation rather than focus on the solution. It’s those times when precious personal relationships, friendships, and even family relationships can suffer greatly.    

Don’t let the minutia get in the way of life.  Once the milk has been spilt, it doesn’t matter who did it … just clean up the mess and move on.