It's Graduation Time

It’s graduation time. Hence, my reflective frame of mind! Those of you, who have children graduating from high school or university, please, don’t fall for the silver-lined cliché, “follow your dreams”. Time for reality check. One by one, jubilant graduates walk up the stage thinking little about the new chapter they are about to begin in their lives. And rightfully so. Many parents think that, nowadays, graduates have so many choices; and, that, it’s just a matter of selecting the right one. Right? But which one is that? How do an individual (your child!) select the right path in life? When you talk to your child about “dreams” and “right choices” don’t paint the world in pink. Your chid is not color blind. Better listen to their inner-voice: the complicated feelings of doubts, apprehensions, contradictions and inadequacies, as much as you like to hear them talking about optimism, confidence and desire to fit in and make you proud. Remind them that the real liberation comes from empathy and goodness towards the less fortunate. Perhaps, those too, have dreams of their own.

So, instead of smothering your children with “good intentions and advices” try to understand that they need to take the leading role in their lives. Be accepting if they might not yet have figured out their “big dreams”. As one who chased the “impossible dream” later in life, I can assure you that, when they have that figured out they won’t let go until they infuse their lives with beautiful experiences.

Now, go on and hug your children, as I do the same with my three, beautiful, good-hearted children, and their significant others.