These are my girls…Savannah #1…and Sacred #2. They have been raised in an environment where “being
right” is not a goal. Oh… please…don’t
think we are making our choices because we think we are smarter than anyone…we
are MOST certain we are doing everything wrong.
But…an interesting experiment none-the-less! Dad is completely insane…and instead of
following normal structure…found guidance in some weird concept of eastern
medicine called the five elements. This
weird concept…or philosophy…suggests that our ONLY job is to be the most
amazing and UNIQUE YOU ever. It suggests
that you CANNOT screw it up, because you are the only YOU ever…so the game is
fixed…you will certainly be the most amazing and unique you EVER.
Then it suggests that we have this strange drive toward contribution
and significance…which creates this very uncomfortable need to be of VALUE to
others. All within our own weird-ness.
Well…so far…here is an example of what they have uniquely
created. A game. Each player is given a certain number of
lines to create anything (drawing lines)…with the goal to be the most
comprehensible to others. At each stage,
the number of lines available decreases…so at some point, you only have ONE
line to get someone to comprehend your message.
Mom and Dad are the contestants. They take us through 10 lines…down to 2 lines
(they found at 1 line, there was not enough expression to be unique…playing by
themselves, they both got pencil). Our
job is to identify the drawing as intended…their intention…to convey THEIR
meaning. If we got it right, they get a
point.
Mom and Dad…being raised in a structure of “being right”
think the game is our ability to perceive.
And Mom kicks Dads butt…she is more “right” than Dad! Butt…they were wrong…not right…and the game
is the ability to convey a message…and Sacred wins with simplicity. Savannah thought too much..and created too
much complexity for us to understand her meaning (just a couple points…still
better than ME).
As Mom is celebrating…which technically, she did win our
game of right-ness…our genius children announced that Sacred won. She won the ability to convey a message with
simplicity...we weren’t even in the game.
And this...perhaps the greatest lesson of life…conveying a
message with simplicity so that others can ‘get it’ …is what our (un)schooled
children created…as a game. Practicing
something I have struggled with all of my life…for FUN!
Perhaps…as parents…we should stop talking…long enough…to
hear the genius of children…
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