The previous post “The Role of Parent” is full of questions about parenting. Not because I wouldn’t have answers, because I do have them for myself, but because parenthood can be filled in completely only by the parents themselves. Everyone will have some opinion on how it is handled by you and that is actually not interesting at all.
My biggest concern to put it this way is just that no attention at all is paid to child rearing during the education we are all required to receive. So much is known about the results of different ways of parenting, so much is known about the positive and negative effects on children, that it would be logical to instill that in all children before they enter into parenthood. But no, the only way to get this information is to start reading and studying books almost alternatively and in addition specifically choose a different kind of education. The latter is then also made difficult because you then have to pay for it entirely yourself. The government that takes care of us clearly indicates what you should choose, it seems.
A side note regarding education; it has changed from right to education to compulsory education. Hmm, interesting. All children seem to need to be pushed, squeezed, molded and formed through the education system as much as possible. This is what our government seems to enforce. The cry of uniformity comes to mind. Is that what we as parents want for our children?
Freedom
One of the most important cries in the West! We are lucky to live in the West and not in countries where there is no freedom. How good we have it. How less good those other countries are (so as not to have to write ‘bad’).
Responsibility
This seems to be something like “have to. The phrase, “You have to take responsibility!” is the first one that comes to mind. But is that the case? Can someone else give you responsibility, especially if you don’t want it? Or is that coercion and therefore a freedom taking action? And if you have not taken up your imposed responsibility, or that the expected result is not the outcome, have you done wrong and may you be punished, by the one who forced that responsibility on you?
Opinion
”Don’t let other people’s opinions and wild ideas sidetrack you. It’s okay to get a peer to review your strategy, but in the end, you’re the one calling the shots.”
Tony Rea
To think of something as; they are stupid, she is beautiful, you are smart, he is crazy, and I can think of 100 more, is so to speak an opinion. It would be better if someone expressed this as; I think they are stupid, I think she is beautiful, I think you are smart, I think he is crazy. But that is not the way we communicate. It’s easier to say the other person is something, than it is to state what our opinion of someone is. I hope you see and/or feel the difference in those two ways. An opinion always has a value judgment in it. The first way of communicating, then you are accusing someone of having your value judgment, and the second way of communicating you are just indicating that you yourself have a value judgment. How different conversations would be if we used those words. It seems clear to me that we have learned to communicate incorrectly.
Vision
”Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”
Joel A. Barker
What is a vision other than an opinion? In my opinion, they are even two meanings that are in no way similar. In my opinion a vision is the way you personally see something, and also without value judgments. A vision merely indicates how you look at something. Someone with a vision (and that’s very different from someone with an opinion) is usually someone who wants to go out and achieve something. The word vision is really something else. What is your vision? What is your vision for your life?
What would my vision of responsibility be?
Life is a project
If you have been able to embrace the model, the theory-of-everything, regarding virtual reality Earth a little bit, that it resonates with you so to speak, then you could say that life, your life is a project of learning, lowering entropy, resulting in more compassion and love in your life, in your environment. And whose responsibility is this learning project then? Entirely yours, in my opinion. Should it be the case that you do not take up the learning project, there is no one to say anything about it. Should it be the case that you do pick it up, others may rejoice at that, but it is entirely yours.
Mission
”When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.”
W. Clement Stone
Like a business plan these days, the vision is followed by a mission. Can you do anything with that, right, with the previous paragraph? What is your mission in your life? To do what you were trained for at school and to join in the grind of the Western way of life: sleep, work (and try to earn more and more), eat, watch TV, talk about the weather and look forward to the already planned vacation?
Strategy
”Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.”
Henry Mintzberg
And after the mission description, how are you going to address that, what is the strategy, what is your strategy? Are you going to tackle it, are you going to spend time on another form of developing yourself? There really is enough available to further explore that side of life as well. No matter how much it is subordinated in our society, it is there, it exists. And a different world can open up for everyone.
Summarized
Freedom is the ability to choose your own responsibility. Don’t believe anything at random, go and investigate, your own investigation.
Fear
”Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.”
Will Smith
And one’s own fear will be the only reason why someone will not take up the mission. Fear of what others would think of it. Fear of taking on new things. Fear that it won’t be true. Fear of losing all certainties. Plenty of fears that can haunt the mind.
Experiment
In this experiment, I suggest you do a previous experiment again. The experiment in the post “The phase of adulthood” and of course with a slight modification.
The steps of the experiment.
Start with the meditation and get to the place where you are no longer aware of your body, of the space where you are, of the sounds that are there, the smells that are there, even that you no longer realize that you are sitting on the floor or on a chair, "point consciousness". Silently ask yourself; "What is my higher purpose in this life?" Then imagine that you are walking on a path. Perhaps you are not walking, but moving yourself along floating. Then you see a portal with all the colors of the rainbow. A portal. You walk or float through it. The place where you end up is a lawn with beautiful green grass. Around the lawn is a forest with all kinds of trees, rocks, bushes, everything. You look around and something catches your attention. That's where you go. When you are there, suddenly you are in another space and in that space you get the information you asked for. See what happens, you just have to observe. The moment you have been allowed to receive the image, ask the question, "How can I realize and manifest this in my life from now on?" Again watch what happens, you just have to observe. When it is enough you go out of that space again to the lawn. Then you see the gate and go through it and then walk back on the path to where you started. Come back to the now and slowly open your eyes.
Lots of fun again with this experiment! I wish you that it will provide ‘food for thought’.
Sneak preview
For the next one I have planned to talk about the senior phase in life. Am curious myself what I will write about there.
Wisdom and Love to all.
Marc Sijm, author of IVDAVRA