How to Encourage Dreams and Ambitions of Your Child?
Whatever your children hope to do, you as parents should encourage them to
follow through with their ambitions. If they want to play the piano, garden,
learn to cook, study physics, or whatever, support them totally. Nourish their
aspirations and grow with them.
When Michio came to America, he did a variety of odd jobs, such as washing
dishes and working as a bellboy. He wrote often to his parents in japan. They
had trouble understanding why he was doing such thing after having
graduated from Tokyo University, which is the top university in their country.
They expected him to be more like his classmates who were climbing the
corporate ladder or making places for themselves in the fields of education
and government. Both of his parents were educators, and they wondered why
he was not pursuing a similar career.
More than fifteen years after Michio had left japan, his parents came to
America with the hope of convincing him to return. They worried about him.
They believed that had he remained in japan, he would have become far more
successful. They stayed in our home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we
gave evening classes for a small group of students. When class finished,
Michio would go down to the basement to pack brown rice, azuki beans, miso,
and other macrobiotic staples for sale to a small group of students and
friends. This small business eventually grew into Erewhon, one of the largest
distributors of natural foods in the world.
For two weeks, his parents observed our actions without comment. Finally,
one morning, they said, "Michio, we would like to talk to you this evening." We
expected them to ask us to return to japan. We knew they were acting out of
love and could not think of a way of refusing them, even though we had
committed ourselves to continuing our macrobiotic activities in America.
That night, they attended the class. They sat in their usual places at the back
of the room and kept silent. When the class had finished, they waited until
everyone left and then closed the door. Michio steadied himself. Suddenly, to
his complete surprise, his parents knelt in front of him and bowed. Then, his
mother said, "Michio, we want to become your students," and added, "I don't
know much about macrobiotics yet, or about what you are teaching. But if you
ever need someone to test whether or not what you are saying is true, let me
be that person. I don't mind giving my life for your dream. Your father and I
support you completely."
When we visited Japan almost ten years later, other family members had a
similar reaction to our macrobiotic pursuits. We went to the Kushi family
temple and met with a large group of relatives, many of them elderly, including
several in their nineties. We spoke for close to three hours. The following
morning, several relatives came to our room and said, "Everyone who listened
to you yesterday has decided to begin macrobiotics. We would like to become
your students."
We experienced a joy similar to the one we felt when Michio's parents had
recognized our activities many years before. We felt very thankful to be part of
such a wonderful family. Our parents and relatives have inspired us to return
our happiness unconditionally to others.
As these stories show, the love and encouragement of parents and other
elders are so important for a child's happiness. Nourishing the dreams and
ambitions of children can be far more important than giving them money or
possessions. Encourage children to pursue their hopes and ambitions.
By: Edward Esko