All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that providing children with a strong foundation and the freedom to pursue their dreams is essential.
In this quote, Goethe emphasizes the dual responsibility of parents in raising children: to give them 'roots' which represent a sense of security, belonging, and identity, and 'wings' which symbolize the freedom and encouragement to explore their potential and follow their aspirations. This balance is crucial for cultivating well-rounded individuals who feel grounded yet empowered to take flight in life.
In practice
During a parenting workshop on child development.
All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.
There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior.
I am amazed to see how deliberately I have entangled myself step by step. To have seen my position so clearly, and yet to have acted so like a child!
Seldom in the business and transactions of ordinary life, do we find the sympathy we want.
Know thyself? If I knew myself I would run away.
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.
My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all - the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would be, and much less about what we would do.
If your parent is deployed and you are that young, you spend the whole time wondering where they are and waiting for them to come home. As time passes and the absence is longer and longer, you become more and more concerned - but you don't really have the words to express your concern. There's only this continued absence.
My mother instilled in my sister, Maya, and me the values that would chart the course of our lives. She raised us to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage.
I think this power of living in our children is one of the sweetest things in the world.
I came back to work when my children were two months old. At that early age, they seem to have little awareness of anybody but their Raggedy Ann dolls, so it wasn't a matter of them missing me. I was missing them.
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