Last night, my wife and I had a chance to watch the Lion King with our sons on the silver screen. Needless to say, it was beautiful! But what touched me the most in the story, was when the king whose name was Mufasa, spoke to His son Simba, that one day, he will be king. He gave him a vision, an aspiration and an expectation that required huge responsibility. In his eagerness, Simba embraced it. But being immature, he ended up getting into trouble, ambushed by a bunch of hyenas. Just in the nick of time, his father came to the rescue, saving him from danger.
This is where true parenting through unconditional love comes in. It is when we choose to accept them in spite of the disappointments, heartaches and failures.
His foolishness came with a price. In the end, Mufasa reprimanded him but instead of scolding profusely, the father encouraged him to take to heart his destiny by being wise and responsible.
As parents we’re exactly the same: we have high expectations. We want our children to excel. We want them to have big dreams, succeed, mature fast and we demand so much from them. But we also have to accept the reality, that because of their lack of maturity, they will not meet those expectations. They will stumble and fall in the process. And they will be discouraged.
This is where true parenting through unconditional love comes in. It is when we choose to accept them in spite of the disappointments, heartaches and failures. It is when we nurture, understand, guide, mentor, role model and encourage our children so that they can stay on track in attaining their destiny. It requires a lot of patience. We cannot use anger or guilt to motivate them because it will never inspire them. Rather, we must continue to understand that their success will never be instantaneous. It will be bumpy but fulfilling in the end.
At the end of our lives, the legacy we leave behind in this world is not measured in the businesses we’ve built, the wealth we’ve accumulated or the fame we’ve created. But it is seen in the quality of our relationship with our children, for they are the fruit of our lives.
Missing all my students in #aet. #aet2019 #parentingnotes #extraordinaryparents
EDITOR’S NOTE: The article was originally entitled, “The Speech That Didn’t Make it to the Press”
