Consequences
Several years ago one of my sons was in Jr. High School and didn't pass a class. He then had to take the class in summer school to make up the credit. I had to drive him to and from his class every day. As I was trying to teach him about the consequences of his choices we had the following conversation:
Me: Son if you had just done the work in class you wouldn't be spending your summer in a classroom. You chose not to do that and now you have to sit in class for hours and then do homework in the afternoon. Wouldn't it have been easier to just do the required work in the first place?
Son: Maybe, but I can live with the consequences.
Me: Well did you notice that you are not the only one sharing the consequences of your actions? I am spending 2 hours of my day driving back and forth to this school. I have other things to do and this puts a strain on me too.
Son: There's no one I'd rather share my consequences with than you Mom. :)
Okay, so maybe I didn't get the lesson across that day. :) I have been thinking about consequences lately. The people who care about us share the consequences of our choices all the time. If we make poor choices and bring difficult experiences to ourselves, our family and friends have to watch us go through those difficult times. If our consequences are really dire and possibility put us in harms' way, then they will actually impact the lifes of those who care about us.
Consequences, there's just no way not to share them.
Living our lives carefully doesn't mean never taking risks or doing fun things or making all our decisions based on what our family and friends will think or experience because of our choices. It does mean making our choices thoughtfully not just reactively. No man is an island never rang so true for me as lately, so please, live your lives consciously.
And speaking of consciousness, does it seem to you that some people are unconscious, some semi-conscious and very few really conscious? Okay this is a new topic, but also on my mind lately. I heard Oprah tell a woman on her show "you are unconscious" and I thought "That's It, that's how I feel about so many people. They are just living their lives unconsciously. Reacting instead of making conscious choices (not really a new topic after all) and I find interacting with them just so. . .so . . .tiring. Is it just me or what?
well, I think I have rambled on enough. Thanks for stopping by.
Me: Son if you had just done the work in class you wouldn't be spending your summer in a classroom. You chose not to do that and now you have to sit in class for hours and then do homework in the afternoon. Wouldn't it have been easier to just do the required work in the first place?
Son: Maybe, but I can live with the consequences.
Me: Well did you notice that you are not the only one sharing the consequences of your actions? I am spending 2 hours of my day driving back and forth to this school. I have other things to do and this puts a strain on me too.
Son: There's no one I'd rather share my consequences with than you Mom. :)
Okay, so maybe I didn't get the lesson across that day. :) I have been thinking about consequences lately. The people who care about us share the consequences of our choices all the time. If we make poor choices and bring difficult experiences to ourselves, our family and friends have to watch us go through those difficult times. If our consequences are really dire and possibility put us in harms' way, then they will actually impact the lifes of those who care about us.
Consequences, there's just no way not to share them.
Living our lives carefully doesn't mean never taking risks or doing fun things or making all our decisions based on what our family and friends will think or experience because of our choices. It does mean making our choices thoughtfully not just reactively. No man is an island never rang so true for me as lately, so please, live your lives consciously.
And speaking of consciousness, does it seem to you that some people are unconscious, some semi-conscious and very few really conscious? Okay this is a new topic, but also on my mind lately. I heard Oprah tell a woman on her show "you are unconscious" and I thought "That's It, that's how I feel about so many people. They are just living their lives unconsciously. Reacting instead of making conscious choices (not really a new topic after all) and I find interacting with them just so. . .so . . .tiring. Is it just me or what?
well, I think I have rambled on enough. Thanks for stopping by.
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