Make the Ordinary Come Alive
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
—
credits: poetry by William Martin, The Parent’s Tao Te Ching, image by pinterest.com
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Ah, I love this! 🙂
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thanks lydia, a good message i think )
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Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
Something to strive for, all of us.
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thank you and so true at any age.
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Reblogged this on hocuspocus13.
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thank you, hp )
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Your Welcome
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Very lovely Beth. Xx
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thank you, diana )
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Make the ordinary come alive, the extraordinary will take care of itself – yes!
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so simple and true, yet so hard for so many.
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Show them how to cry when pets and people die… I would only hope that they are able to, to express, to feel, to know, from the simple things to the hard in life and in ordinary pleasures they will find happiness. Beautiful Beth x
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thank you jen, those are such important things –
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this is beautiful…i have just lost a nephew this week, he was soo young and full of life and i found myself appreciating the ordinary, Am glad you wrote this..
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i am so very sorry for you and your entire family’s loss. i also lost a nephew at a very young age. i am happy that this piece spoke to you. hugs, beth
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William Martin is so very, very wise. You, too, Beth. Thanks for sharing.
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he is. and thank you, mark –
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Thank you so much for this Beth!
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i’m happy you liked this jules )
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Lovely verses of poetry can be ‘ordinary’ until one reads the meaning brought into other’s life: then, it becomes extraordinary! Hugs to this sweet picture, too!
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thanks robin )
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I agree. People are always trying to get my to put my daughter in modeling or acting. I have no desire for them to be famous.
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i think you’re right to make that choice, becca. if they choose it on their own later, it’s in their hands.
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A lovely and important sentiment. And yet, so often, it’s the children who teach us to appreciate the ordinary. They are often the ones who see and appreciate the wonder in the things we’ve come to overlook — the curl of a new leaf, the fuzziness of a tiny caterpillar, the twinkle of a star …
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so very true –
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So warm 😉
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it is warm )
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Lovely ksbeth ~ my middle name is Elizabeth ;D
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ah, small world. i am beth. and i coincidentally, i teach at a beautiful place called cranbrook that is a haven for the world of art and artists.
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Fate Beth ;D. I believe
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There is so much beauty and wonder in the ordinary, and we don’t take enough time to notice. Lovely post.
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that is so true, susan. and thank you.
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how sweet 🙂
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)
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Your writing is beautiful 🙂
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jess, these words are borrowed from the writer cited below the passage, my part was to find his beautiful words and a picture that i felt spoke to what he was trying to teach us. and thank you ) beth
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Beth 🙂 It is very nice of you to share it with us 😀
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)
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Great advice. I love the part about showing children the wonders of ordinary life. Ordinary to us, maybe, but not to kids who “really” see things for the first time. That increases our appreciation for the ordinary wonders as well. 😉
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yes, i think it is, and you are right )
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This poem causes me to reflect on how we live as parents. I wonder if we focus too much on living vicariously through our children. Instead of being examples to follow, we are spectators of the next generation. Children need examples. What exactly are we showing them?
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v – it does make you stop and think –
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Dude. I love this post. Very cool. I’m often trying to find the extraordinary in ordinary moments. And you’re right in the end extraordinary just shows up … lucky I’m ready sometimes 🙂
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thank you and excellent to hear ) beth
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Reblogged this on climbing up the polka dot tree and commented:
This is a wonderful poem… ❤
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thank you for the reblog )
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Reblogged this on Random Repeat.
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thank you for this, rr )
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nooo, Thank you 🙂
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Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Awesome sentiment and wisdom… Thank you for sharing this beautiful post and the smiles! 🙂 loved it!
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it was my pleasure, joe )
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Simple lives.
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simple, indeed )
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Very good advice for all of us. I use to call this realistic expectations and would try to help parents of my students have them!
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great idea )
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It is a lot of work to find something remarkably said and then find a nice illustrative print or artwork to go with it. This requires effort, energy, persistence until you find things that do work well together. Beth, thank you for following me. This is the first time I have posted to your site. I hope you were able to access my “Fish Tank Movie”. Jackie
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my pleasure, jackie and putting things together is what i love to do, associations and connections with all things within the universe. it’s the collagist/puzzle solver within me )
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Reblogged this on Banded Carolina Girl and commented:
this is a fantastic POST…..had to share
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thank you so much, for reading, for commenting, for following, and for reblogging. what a day we’ve had! ) best, beth
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Thank you for finding this gem for us.
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my pleasure )
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