Now, excuse me, but our children, mine included, are clueless about the people who are out there out of luck-some by choice, and some by pure luck. Children want, want, want. They are very selfish and self-centered, everything is about them, and them alone. Yes, my kids fall in this bucket.
To bring some reality into my kids' life, I did two things this holiday season. I drove them through lower Wacker in the beautiful city of Chicago, to see first-hand, how homeless people live-flat out on the ground.
A mother and a daughter, a father and a son are homeless. You learn two very contradictory things about their lives-you want to hide, but you also want to be noticed in order to find a job. How unfair this world is, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with young kids understanding that in order to appreciate what they have-a home is not to be taken for granted, a home is a safe sanctuary. And while you are bored with it all, it is better than the unsafe alternative.
Then I assembled a fine collection of books to tackle the topic of having vs needing, and what is it that we truly need. I don't think that I succeeded very much with the books, but some points were well understood and most of the wantings stopped. However, the drive down Wacker had a tremendous impact. And yes, I told my kids, that one sure way not to get there is to learn, to learn to learn, to learn to love to learn.
However, this by itself is not sufficient. You need to be wise and not take unnecessary risks as the mother in 'Shelter in our car' did. You should have a strong supporting system and steer away from depression which is clearly experienced by the father in 'Fly away, home'. It is good to be hopeful, but it is better to be prepared, and to listen to the wisdom of the folks who have walked the walk before you which we see in 'A handful of Seeds'. You should also not be selfish, be good to others and you will both feel good and you will be well, something illustrated in 'Those shoes'.
Then we talked about the indigenous people of north america. We started with 'The Horse return to America', 'North American Indians' and the series by Bonnie Shamie Native Dwellings. I highly recommend them all. We are also going to continue reading about the indigenous people in North America and the societies in South America that the conquistadors/settlers discovered.
We also finished 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. It was a good read-aloud. I am glad we are done with it, though. I had to skip a lot of 'god'-related nuances that I did not feel like dealing with even though post-reading, on an un-related occasion, I did. I basically told my kids that some people still believe in myths and legends, similar to the myth about 'The girl who liked horses'. For one of these myths/legends people invented a holiday, and this is Christmas. According to this legend, a child who is very important to people had been born many, many years ago and people celebrate his birth. There is nothing wrong with this celebration. We should, however, never forget that all people who have been born are special, and all have talents and contributions, so we should celebrate each and every one and not single one as the most special. I think in this speech, I summarized my very own view of Christianity as nothing but a fine fiction. The typical critics would say: 'But history has been captured in the Bible..', to which I will say:'Yes, history is also captured in Les Miserables'.
This is what has kept are busy during December. On to one more week of December and all of a new Year!
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