In your excitement to get something,

make sure it’s what you want. 

Like little children who upon seeing some candy, thrust out their hands to grasp the enticing sweet, we similarly hear of something tempting and eagerly set our mind on devising a way to get it.

So caught up in how we can get our hands on this enticing piece of “candy,” and all the things that will ensue when we succeed in our quest, we forget a salient piece of information: we had decided we no longer wanted what we’re now dreaming of possessing.

In fact, we’ve been judiciously avoiding it. But so conditioned are we by our craving and so caught up are we in envisaging the pursuit, that we forget our earlier rejection of what we’re now lusting after. Thankfully, as we practice, we will find the pool of experiences and stuff we crave ever shrinking. Which is good.

Even better is remembering how we’re contentedly simplifying our life the next time a new piece of “candy” catches our attention, and we’re tempted to shout, “Mine!”

Letting go is more than giving away possessions (Click image for video)

“Do what I say.”

But not what I do.

I think it would be safe to say that parents have been saying “do what I say” to their children for millennia, or even longer.

But what if the parents’ behavior do not match the stern words for their children.

“Turn off your TV!” while they return to the soccer finals. 

“Don’t waste time playing on your phone!” But they text a friend about the latest kerfuffle at work.

“You’re spending too much time on the Internet!” even as they continue gaming online.

“Talk nicely to your brother!” But the heated discussion with their neighbor carries on.

Children learn by observing. And if what parents say isn’t what they do, their children will see the disparity. They want to know why their parents are not following the rules that they have laid out. It’s pretty tough to come up with a good answer to such logic. “Because I’m your mother/father” won’t cut it.

Unless parents want a mini-rebellion on their hands, they’d be better off doing what they’re telling their children to do.