Image: Loving mother courtesy of The crazy Colombian

A paradox of love:
The greatest mystery
of this world we live in.
How to be the best parent,
the best mother,
the best father,
the person your child deserves?

In balance lies the answer;
give all your love,
unconditionally.
Protect your child
from the evils of this world.
Uncage his spirit
and encourage him
to explore our beautiful universe
in all its glory.

Teach him the lessons he needs
to be happy,
well adjusted,
socially responsible,
safe,
successful,
at peace.

Let him make the mistakes
that will be necessary
for him to truly realise
the meaning of those lessons,
for it is only through experience –
sometimes painful,
sometimes scary,
almost always uncomfortable,
that we learn the lessons
that truly matter in this world.

Give him love;
Shower him with presents
of the heart;
Be Spartan with the presents
of this physical world;
Always be there for him,
But don’t force your presence,
your ideas,
your perspectives and
points of view
upon him.

Listen to what he has to say
and offer advice only
when he asks for it,
when he truly needs it,
or when he rightfully deserves it.

Talk with him,
not at him,
of the things he wants to
talk about.
Connect with him through words
about his world,
even if his world is too naïve,
too innocent,
too boring
or too childlike.
For it is only through his eyes
that you can truly comprehend
what your child desires,
craves,
fears,
needs help with.

Play with him,
learn about his favourite toys;
Spend quality time
with him and all his friends;
real, or imaginary,
it doesn’t really matter.
Let yourself go
in the bliss that we all have
when we play
for play’s sake;
when we don’t look at games
as competitions,
networking events,
ways to enhance
our social status,
or events to should be watched
from the comfort of your couch.
Let yourself enjoy the moment
when your child plays with you
and shows you
how to experience games
as rare
and wonderful opportunities
to share a laugh;
give some fun;
live the moment
with someone that you love;
enjoy the game
for what it truly is:
a moment of active joy,
with no responsibilities;
all fun,
no harm.

The greatest mystery
we’ll never uncover:
How to be the best parent,
that your child deserves?

The answer is quite simple,
yet impossible to act upon
every single day:
Give yourself unconditionally,
Spend all your love on him;
Set him free to learn,
and live,
and love,
discovering his passions,
finding his own heart,
his own path;
support him through this journey,
as a guide who knows some roads,
not a leader that knows them all.
Balance your needs with his,
Your wisdom with your foolishness;
And show him that you’ll always be there for him;
especially when the hardest proof
of love is demanded of you:
To let him go,
set him free,
send him on the road to
find and be himself.
For it will be
in that simple moment of surrender
that your love will flower
and help you find the peace,
the happiness,
the self-fulfillment
you’ve been seeking all your life;

It will be in that simple moment
that you will live,
for just a second
but will always be
forever in your heart,
the realisation you always
knew how to be the best parent,
the best mother,
the best father,
the person your child deserves,
Always has,
Always will.

For more poetry, visit the following links:

• Tomorrow – a poem inspired by Bradley Trevor Grieves book by the same name
• Reflections of a Peaceful Warrior – a poem inspired in a talk given by Dan Millman in Sydney (April ‘08)
• Loneliness – poetry in the Zen tradition
• Samsara – another Zen poem that explains the concept of Samsara
• Que es poesia? – a liberal translation into english of Gustavo Adolfo Becker’s famous poem
• Joy – An uplifting poem about the nature of happiness
• Unusual times – a poem reflecting on the nature of changing and unusual times
• Queda Prohibido – a poem by Pablo Neruda, with translation into English
• Play – A beautiful poem about growing up

or you can visit The crazy Colombian’s new book Zen and the art of photographic story-telling

Why is it that babies come without a manual? Because even if they did, we would still try to work things out by ourselves without even bothering to read them, that’s why.

If you are one of those rare types that reads manuals, we have a Christmas gift for you: A guide to parenthood by 2 fantastic online authors: Leo Babauta (of Zen Habits) and Veder DeLeeuw (of MumGrind). Simply click on the images below to go to the full articles.

Image: Wild World courtesy of annais

Image: Baby Steps courtesy of Orin Optiglot

Note: If you receive this by email, make sure you tell your email program to Show Images

To my loyal readers: This is another reflection I previously wrote for my other project, Pass it Forward. I hope you enjoy it. -The crazy Colombian

Image: Puppies in the Puddle courtesy of Todd Huffman

You may be surprised by these news, but No: you do not need to be a Boy scout to Be Prepared‘ (Scouts’ motto) and Do a Good Turn Daily (Scout’s slogan). In this article we will tell you why you should create the habit of giving on a daily basis, and we will also share with you the ’secret weapon’ that makes this as easy as 1-2-3!

Why give on a daily basis?

The benefits of daily giving should be obvious, but let’s recount them:

• Giving on a daily basis will make you a better Christian / Muslim / Buddhist / <insert your religious denomination here>
• It makes you feel like you have contributed with something positive every day
• Give daily to those in need, and you will start to appreciate how much you actually have in your life
• Eventually, all that good may come back (If you don’t know about the universal Law of cause & effect or Karma, you can learn about it in this article)
• And would you believe that some forms of giving are even tax-free?

Ok, so now that you’re convinced of making Giving a daily habit, let’s move to the How.

How to give on a daily basis?

There are 2 things you need to remember to make Giving a daily habit in your life:

1. Remember that creating new habits is a difficult task, so be easy on yourself. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has written a fantastic article that will help you remember of 13 things to avoid when changing habits. We strongly recommend you read it when you’re finished with us.
2. Make sure you’re ready to give when the opportunity arises. Most of the time we don’t give not because we don’t want to, but because it will take too much time, we don’t have change with us, or it simply happens at an inconvenient time. To combat these issues, we have a secret weapon: The PIF kit! What?! we here you say; Shhhhh…. it’s a cleverly guarded secret of us, committed philanthropists. But don’t worry, you can go to this Secret page to learn it all about PIF kits. It’s very easy! Take a look, and decide by yourself.

Image: 1 courtesy of 18 55 Photography

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published by The crazy Colombian in the ‘Reflections’ section of his other web site Pass It Forward. We encourage you to visit this web page and learn more about this inspirational project that is changing the world with acts of kindness.

The parable of the hungry little boy

There once was a little boy who lived on the streets of New York and was always hungry. On Monday morning a senior executive from a hedge fund walked past him; The executive had received a free bread-roll with his coffee from the local Starbucks. Since he was on a low-carb diet, he carelessly tossed it away. Luckily for the small boy, the bread-roll landed on his lap (the boy’s, not the executive’s)On this first day the boy had something to eat, and did not go hungry. On Tuesday, a Social Security worker walked past this same little boy. His heart was broken by the sight of a young & vulnerable child on the harsh streets of New York. He decided to stop at the bakery across the road, and used the few coins in his pocket to buy a bread-roll for the boy. On this second day the boy had something to eat, and did not go hungry. On Wednesday a visiting politician from Washington D.C. walked past the boy, and saw a golden opportunity for some positive PR. He took his PR consultant’s lunch box, removed a bread-roll that was in it, and asked him to take a photo of him magnanimously giving the boy some food. On this third day the boy had something to eat, and did not go hungry.

Who was a better giver: The senior executive; the Social Security worker, or the politician? If you’re like most of us, you will say the Social Security worker. In our judgemental eyes, he was the only generous soul; the senior executive was simply careless, and the politician self-serving. Yet truth is they all gave a bread-roll away. To the small boy, all three acts of kindness were equal. At the end of the day, each and every one of them allowed him to avoid hunger in a cold, winter New York day.

So what?

In our current society, we often judge others’ acts of generosity on the basis of the giver’s intentions & motivations. We believe that giving must be done with love in our hearts to be worthy of praise. But wouldn’t it be even more admirable if you gave something even when you were not inspired; when you were not feeling generous; even when you simply did not feel like it? We all feel inspired by the person who has nothing yet gives much; in a certain way, that generosity is remarkable, and needs to be praised, if for no other reason than to recognise a selfless and generous spirit we have come across in our day. Yet we must be careful. Simply because giving with little in our pocket and a generous heart is a good thing, does not mean that we should fail to acknowledge any giving that does not come in the company of those admirable traits.

The greatest gift : giving in spite of yourself

We usually give when we are in a good mood, feeling either wealthy or generous. Yet we often feel unworthy to participate in the gift of giving if we feel motivated to do so because it has a positive impact in our taxes; because we feel just a tinge of guilt from our latest excesses; or because someone who we love is watching us and we do not want to be seen as too selfish. It has been said that many volunteers get a strong sense of purpose from donating their time, and that at the end of the day, they are giving not so much because they love others and want to help them; but because they love themselves and feeling useful makes them happy. Should we snub them and their efforts because of it? Or course not! Just remember that to those on the receiving end, your motivation makes very little difference. Next time you feel like you need to be in the right frame of mind before you give to others, get over your moralistic impulses and Just Do It. The person who benefits from your kindness will appreciate it regardless of your motivations!

A poem inspired by Bradley Trevor Grieve’s awesome book Tomorrow

For a copy of the poem, click here

Note: All images were made available to the public by their authors under a Creative Commons License on Flickr.com; for a full list of credits, watch the end of the video or click here

For more poetry, visit the following links:

• Reflections of a Peaceful Warrior – a poem inspired in a talk given by Dan Millman in Sydney (April ‘08)
• Loneliness – poetry in the Zen tradition
• Samsara – another Zen poem that explains the concept of Samsara
• Que es poesia? – a liberal translation into english of Gustavo Adolfo Becker’s famous poem
• Joy – another poem on the nature of a joyful life

Image: Beautiful Women by DownTown Pictures

I love Baci chocolates; they have the perfect mix of dark chocolate and luscious hazelnuts. And they come with some beautiful quotes regarding love. Below are some of my favourites.

Enjoy!

"The woman does not exist of whose beauty all men shall agree upon"
-G. Leopardi

"Passion dazzles lovers. Love unites them forever"
- Anonymous

"We know the least about those we love the most"
- Chinese proverb

"Pleasure is a sin but sinning is a pleasure"
-G. Byron