Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Report card

My son received his report card today. He has A's & B's. I should be very happy about that. A few years ago, despite his hard work and excellent behavior, he had C's, D's and F's. We finally figured out that, in spite of higher levels of intelligence in several areas, he had a processing problem that affected his reading comprehension. Now that we are aware and have taken steps to work with this condition, his grades are better and so is his self-esteem.

When it comes to my son's schooling, I have a different approach that many people around me. His report card does not mean that much to me. Because we live in this society, we follow this society's rules and so, he goes to school, he wears his uniform, he turns in homework, he follows the rules. Yet, I don't push for the best grades and he doesn't have perfect attendance. When his dad comes from overseas to visit him, he skips a day. When grandma wants to fly him to a Broadway show, he skips another. When a new exhibit hits a museum, off we go to see it. There are lessons to be learned outside of the norm.

I am happy that he has good grades, but I am happiest that he is happy. I am happy that he is healthy and well. I am happy that we talk, we laugh, we dance. I am happy that he has questions for me, that he is curious about the world, that he is considerate, funny, intelligent, grateful, able, kind, and not gullible. I am happy that he is in touch with who he is. I am happy that he know how important and valuable he is. I am happy that he knows how important and valuable others are.

Today is a good day to measure ourselves against something bigger. What if the measure of our success were the relationships we formed, how happy we are, how thankful we feel, how we relate to others, how much we enjoy the world we live in, how we contribute, how much we laugh, how free we feel, how much beauty we see around us, how we uplift each other, how much we share, how connected we are to Spirit, how much inspiration we find, how we inspire each other, how much we learn outside of the establishment? What would our report card look like?


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