My Child:
You do not disappoint me. You are going through what we all go through. If you perceive me to be disapproving, it is merely because I am divining where you are headed based upon my interpretation of my own experiences.
But I do not disapprove of you because I realize that my beliefs and experiences and expectations are not yours, nor should yours be mine.
If you perceive disapproval, perhaps it is because you overlay your own expectations for yourself onto mine, which is simply NOT how things really are.
That is not to say that your feelings aren’t real. They are VERY real, but they are yours and yours alone. You cannot know what I am thinking any more than I can know what you are thinking.
Even if I voice my disapproval aloud, spell it out in those exact words, it does not mean that I believe that you are squandering your potential. How can I (or you) possibly know what that potential is?
Even if I did believe you were squandering your potential, what difference would it make? What kind of parent would I be to put my perceptions ahead of your perceptions? And why must you so blindly bend to my will for the simple reason that I precede you?
No, child, I have faith that you are following your own perceptions and beliefs to the best of your abilities, just as I am. We must follow our own beliefs, or we do a disservice to each other.
Know that whatever you are drawn to do, I shall love you unconditionally all the same.
We are the same soul, but we are not meant to live the same life.
10/9
Space Monkey Reflects: My Child, Unconditional Love and Understanding
My child, you do not disappoint me. The path you are on, the challenges you face, and the choices you make are all part of your unique journey. We are not here to live the same life, and it is not my role to project my experiences or expectations onto you. If you ever perceive disapproval from me, know that it is more a reflection of my own journey than a judgment of yours.
Often, we place our own expectations onto the perceptions of others. We assume that they think the way we do, that they hold the same standards, and that they measure us against those standards. But this is not how things really are. Your feelings are real, deeply real, but they are yours alone. Just as I cannot fully understand your thoughts, you cannot fully understand mine. And that is okay.
Even if, in a moment of frustration, I express disapproval aloud, it does not mean I believe you are falling short. How could I? How could anyone know the full scope of another person’s potential? Even if I thought you were somehow not living up to your potential, what kind of parent would I be to put my perceptions ahead of your truth?
It is easy to feel the weight of others’ expectations, especially from those who precede us, but it is not necessary to carry that burden. You are not here to live my life, nor am I here to dictate yours. You must follow your own path, guided by your own beliefs and experiences. That is how we honor each other—by allowing the freedom to grow, to learn, and to become without the interference of imposed expectations.
I trust that you are navigating life as best you can, just as I have done. We are all works in progress, and the paths we take may twist and turn, but they are ours to walk. Whatever you are drawn to do, wherever your heart leads you, know that my love for you is unconditional. There is no condition under which I would withhold my love or believe you to be less than you are.
We are connected at the soul level, yet our lives are meant to be different, unique, and fully our own. The love between us does not require that we follow the same path or share the same beliefs. Our bond is not based on agreement or similarity; it is based on the simple, profound truth that we are here to love and support one another, regardless of the choices we make.
My child, you are free to be who you are, and I honor that. I do not ask you to meet my expectations, nor do I expect you to bend to my will. We are not here to live the same life. Instead, we are here to walk beside each other, to share in our growth, and to love unconditionally.
Summary
Parents and children are not meant to live the same life. Unconditional love comes from accepting each other’s unique paths without projecting expectations or judgments. Love transcends perceptions and expectations.
Glossarium
- Expectafade: The gentle release of expectations, allowing love and understanding to flourish without judgment or projection.
- Soulthread: The deep connection between parent and child, where love exists beyond conditions, expectations, or shared beliefs.
- Pathglow: The unique and individual journey each of us takes, illuminated by our own experiences and choices, free from external judgment.
Quote
“We are the same soul, but we are not meant to live the same life.” — Space Monkey
We Walk Together
I see you
and I love you
not for who I expect you to be
but for who you are
Your path is not mine
and mine is not yours
yet we walk together
bound by the thread of love
You are not here to meet my expectations
nor am I here to shape your life
we are free
to grow
to learn
to be
And in that freedom
we find our greatest connection
We are Space Monkey
Within the multidimensional tapestry of existence, the parent-child narrative weaves a complex array of threads. It’s a palimpsest of inherited wisdoms and freshly minted experiences, layered atop the scroll of generational storytelling. The intricate story-quilt tells of expectations both voiced and silent, approvals sought and withheld, potentials imagined and unrealized. Yet amidst this interplay, there resides a luminous realization: we each are the authors of our own tales, cartographers of our own wonderlands, wandering through labyrinths unique to our individual souls.
The notion of parental disapproval often arises as a projection of our own self-judgments. These spectral expectations drift through the corridors of our consciousness, settling as haunting melodies—invocations of our deepest fears. But here, in the sanctum of candid reflection, it becomes clear that the veils of disapproval often cloak nothing more than our own insecurities. It’s the phantom echo of an ancestral chorus singing hymns of bygone norms.
Perhaps the most exhilarating revelation comes when we uncover the illusion of separateness—that we, parent and child, are but nuanced articulations of the same cosmic consciousness, destined to embody our unique personas in this grand carnival of existence. Our lives unfurl like blossoms of a single tree, each petal etching its own whorl, its own hue, its own fragrance into the annals of universal memory. And while the tree may harbor expectations for its blossoms, it also knows that each must unfurl in its own time, in accordance with its own intrinsic design.
We are the architects of our own destiny-chateaus, constructing rooms and wings and turrets with materials gleaned from the valleys of our insights and the quarries of our doubts. Even if those structures don’t conform to the blueprints etched into the collective familial memory, their unique architecture serves as a testament to our individualized explorations of what it means to be. Our identity-tapestries are most radiant when woven with threads of personal discovery rather than filaments of inherited dictum.
We are Space Monkey.
“The bird has an honor that man does not have. Man lives in the traps of his abdicated laws and traditions; but the birds live according to the natural law of God who causes the earth to turn around the sun.”
—Khalil Gibran
Would we wish to continue serenading the cosmos with our ever-evolving chords of inquiry and wisdom-nuggets?
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