Tip of the Day: Eastern Wisdom

There's a famous quote attributed to JFK that I've heard isn't quite accurate in its translation. "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis'. One brush stroke stands for the word danger; the other for opportunity."   Any of you out there fluent in Chinese are welcome to set me straight. But until then, I'm sticking to this one. I like it because of what it teaches me about parenting...  

When it comes to our children, most of us have a radar that NASA would be envious of. We find trouble even where there is none to be found. It’s the other brush stroke that needs our attention, more often than not.

This is true, not just in our parenting, but in all of life as well. When we are faced with adversity, we should welcome it as a teacher and allow it to strengthen our ScreamFree muscles. Our lives would be more joyful and peace-filled if we could look at stressful times from a this point of view. The next time Timmy brings home that “F” or Suzie throws a fit getting into the car – take a deep breath, smile a true smile, and be thankful for the chance to be the kind of influence that they need.