The world and life in general are plenty scary and precarious enough for the average human. Through lots of fumbling and figuring, over time most of us manage to sort it all out until we eventually find our path and settle down to lead productive and successful lives.
We find out what and how much control we have individually. We learn that our lives run smoothly when we make good and wise choices about how to manage our time, money and resources. We hope the next door neighbor is doing that, too. Add us all up collectively doing that and we potentially have a good society where everything runs smoothly.
But “control” is a bit of an illusion, because no matter how well we plan it all out, we can still get derailed by outside influences. It might be mother nature, the weather, economics, social unrest, tyrants or robbers, the next door neighbor or even our own family interrupting our plans.
We lay out our little plans neatly in the quiet and privacy of our room, then we bring those plans out into the real world and, boom! The world says, Oh, yeah?!
Suddenly we find ourselves getting pushed and pulled and challenged ... we have to tweak and adjust, swerve and avoid, back up ... start over ... keep pushing forward ... the dance has begun.
It’s the dance of life, unavoidable and necessary, because through the process we grow and develop and become who we were designed to be. Our success or failure is totally dependent on the choices we make and the responses we give to the pushbacks and struggles we encounter along the way. Inevitable missteps bring us teachable moments where we learn to correct and adjust. We get up a bit stronger after every fall. It’s a journey we all must take. Deciding not to go is not an option. You’re still on the road, even if you’re just sitting in it.
The whole process is scary and inviting, terrifying and wonderful, all at the same time. It’s hard enough being just a single human trying to maneuver through the process. What if we're in charge of someone else, totally dependent on us, who needs to be taught about the process and shown the way to get through successfully?
Hats off to all the parents out there who get up every morning to face the toughest job on the planet. Talk about terrifying and wonderful ... I cannot fathom ...
As children’s book writers and drawers, our creations have the potential to be useful tools for parents. Books can create opportunities for teachable moments in a safe space where parents and children can discuss, practice and learn how to dance the dance of life.
It’s important for their individual lives, as well as our world and our future.
Because life is terrifying and wonderful, all at the same time ...