Prologue to a Series on Hinduism

The priest at our local Hindu temple is a very learned man. He is younger than me, but has dedicated his life to God and has studied the Vedas for many years. However, in spite of being steeped in very deep religious philosophy, he has the knack for explaining complex religious concepts simply enough for our ABCD children to understand. This is very useful for parents like us who feel that having a connection to their roots is very important for kids to understand their identity and to be grounded in their adult life.

Last time we were at the temple he explained a couple of things about Hinduism to our kids and promised to explain more next time. I plan to blog about these in a series here for others that may be looking for similar information for their kids.

Can't Dream for Others

Although I've suspected this, maybe even known this, it has been reaffirmed for me multiple times in the recent past. Even though the dream you have imagined for someone else may be perfect for them. It may be something that they really want but just are not ready for, or have not realized yet. Dreaming for someone else is a fool's errand; dreams by nature are a personal thing and unless the dreamer and dream are one, it cannot be fulfilled.

So how does this work when related to parenting? Don't all parents have dreams for their children? I believe that they do, but really what  parent can do is to help the child construct and clarify their own dream. From that point on, unless the child adopts the dream and makes it their own, it remains a dream that the parent has for their child as opposed to the child's dream that they will take to fruition.

Different scenarios, but same principle. So if you are involved in a dream for someone else, beware, all you can do is help articulate the dream. At that point you need to let go or you will be left with a sense of failure for something you never had any control over in the first place.

I Want To Read That...

So what do you do when your kid's friend recommends a book, but you are not sure that it is age appropriate?

"Her parents let her read it", she says. But what if their standards are more liberal than yours?

Movies have ratings, video games have ratings, even music has content warnings, then why not books?

Maybe I can crowd source this info. Let's see what twitter, facebook, and goodreads can get me some info.

The book is Fallen by Lauren Kate