To Marie and Brian,
Someday you will probably be old enough to read the archives of this website. And I hope you do, and it brings some smiles to your face.
Today I ran across a link of a person’s “message to their 3 year old son”:http://zenhabits.net/2008/05/a-letter-to-my-son-on-starting-out-in-life/. It is a nice note, and I hope to write my own similar message to both of you someday. For the meantime, allow me to quote a bit of that one:
bq. Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, with all of your heart. Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment, but only love. Open your soul to them.
Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors … your coworkers … strangers … your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand.
Love not only neighbors and strangers … but your enemy. The person who is cruelest to you, who has been unkind to you … love him. He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love.
And most of all, love yourself. While others may criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you’re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love … but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of happiness and love … and learn to love yourself for who you are.
I don’t like his last paragraph, so let me add my own:
Your mother and I love you, always have, and always will. Our love for you started the day the thoughts of you first entered our minds, and will continue beyond the day you enter the gates of heaven. We will always be with you and there for you, and our love will always guide, protect, and nurture you. You can never be too lost, too afraid, too strong, too proud, too big, or too small to experience our love.
Oh man. 🙂