My nine year old son opened up to me today about something that he had “kept inside” for a long time.

It was the inability of his peers to recognize and believe in him.

When his friends from school do well on a test or reach any milestone, my son congratulates them, not because I tell him to, but because he truly loves them and is happy for them, for any person who reaches his or her human potential or does something that they are happy with, on any level. I had to teach him some valuable lessons today about life, or that which he is discovering.

I find that it is so rare that people get to believe in themselves that any effort should be encouraged.

We learn such nasty tricks in school such as “it’s bragging to be proud of yourself.” I’ve had to deal with this in my own life but feel that one has to break past certain human barriers to know that they are finding their true essence, like stages of a caterpillar, the stages of finally accepting who you are does not come easily.

I gave my son a set of instructions but never took my eyes off of the target; I remember who he is and that is the most important thing there is.

Everything else falls away and I just stay focused and on track in this prescription for happiness: be who you are and continue to praise those around you.

Others might not be able to be themselves or see your light, but you are a gift  that no one can take; expect to encounter doubt and jealousy but don’t be ashamed of who you are.

There is no greater gift than a child opening up—or any person for that matter—it takes courage.

We play-acted ways for him not to take things too personally:

You be the eyes of every child. You speak for them. Life is like a water ballet, a synchronized swim. We all feel the same things. You are feeling this way because one day you will have to teach others what to do.

When you feel someone is reaching their potential in any way, if for the right reason there is a glow that occurs. Then someone’s action and spirit meld. When someone stops preaching but becomes a believer in his own thoughts and puts those thoughts to the test,  that is nothing less than magic. It is the silence of wisdom. And the wisdom of certainty. It is why people flock to certain others as if surrounding a sun. They are receiving the vital residue and the nutrients from that center.

I don’t know what it takes to get there, but a few candles light your path.

Some people fall off the path and disown part of their evolving self, never to materialize.

I believe in you from the bottom of my heart that if you stay steady, you will be.

It was what your ancestors did, and people who believed in themselves when there was no gain and no fame, following the human spirit. At a certain point they were separated from the rest and lauded as if having a special power, a shaman, call it what you want, these people restored broken souls and gave hope through their teachings.

Now is the time to fight the part of you that wants to cave and give in to childish ways, or stay stuck in loathing for the entire human race, such as feeling you will never connect to your peers.  When the way to connect to them is to stay loving and believing in others as much as yourself, to create a harmonized world.

You are a child, you are still a seed, but you have all the answers you just need to stay on the path to your true self.

My son, I believe in you.

Lisa Eastman is a singer/songwriter/pianist and has an album coming out in December called Jubilee. I write both out of passion and necessity. I sometimes use the pseudonym Raime Sun to write under…she’s been a good listener. I trust that I will write what’s true. For the words that I impart to you. I will go deep inside and tell you things that shouldn’t hide. As a seeker in these times, I am just another eye.

 

~

Editor: Edith Lazenby

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