Live as you would want your children to live

Imagine, for just one day, that you are your child. What would you do? What would you think? Where would you go?

Suddenly, does your imagination run wild? Do you imagine yourself doing everything? Do you feel a sense of freedom you have never felt before?

'Live as you would want your children to live' is not as daft as it may first sound. Our children are part of us, and we as human beings believe that they will have the same likes, loves, and dreams as us. We want them to have opportunities we never took up or had, we want them to have experiences we would love to have had. But why do we look to our (future) children to have and do what we wish we had done?

Because we do not put on to them our judgements and concerns. We do not live ourselves as we would want our children to live because we are afraid. Afraid of what people think, afraid of what people may say, afraid of the consequences. But deep down, we know that these fears are as empty as air, and that is why we are happy for our children to do it; because we take a backward step, an outer persepective, and we see that our own fears are meaningless.

Therefore, ditch the fears, ditch the self judgement, ditch the self hate: and take a leap. Do what deep down you want to do. Your children are not going to want to live how you want to live because they are not you. You are you. So its up to you to live it for you. No one else is going to do it for you. Only you.

My father is a geographer and I have no sense of direction. This is my point.

With love and warmth, Anna-Katharina xxx