We Are All Parents

At this stage of my life, being a mum to my two children is my focus. And so a lot of my reflections are parenting related. 

But every time I go down the parenting road, it leads back to everyone - to universal truths. Because we are parenting ourselves and each other all the time. It's not just about giving birth to a baby and learning everything that comes after it. That is only one way to be a parent. 

Our real work, if we want to be kind, compassionate, clear, loving people is to realise that we never stop needing to be parented. We need help, support, compassion and we need to be held and heard and treated gently and kindly. And if we need this for ourselves, it means others need it from us, too. 

As I see it, parenting can be defined this way:

To parent (verb): To commit to love, hold and truly see another as they grow, blossom, make mistakes, fall down, get up, lose themselves, find themselves, learn what they came to learn. 

By this definition, aren't we all parenting ourselves and each other all the time?

Isn't this the same as the definition of a great friend or a gifted coach?

We can be the presence of love for anybody. We just have to decide that's what we want to be.

And when we realise how essential it is that we do this for each other - just as we have to care for a newborn baby or a young child - we can make an even deeper commitment.

You are so important. You have such power in you to choose love and be a loving presence for others. Because we all need each other.

Love Hollie