Motivation and Stewardship

What truly motivates the life we strive to live? There is without a doubt a deep spiritual answer to this question. In fact there are many answers to this question, none of less value than the others. There is one answer though, that stands forth every single day. One answer that is there when we wake up in the morning, follows us throughout the day and through the night. Always there unspoken or not, by some it would seem forgotten. That answer is our children.

They are the progeny we will leave to inherit the Earth. They are the ones who will continue our journey and in turn prepare it for our descendants. As parents we work hard to provide for our children, to offer them  the best of opportunities, to meet their wants and needs, so that they can grow to become happy, healthy, and strong young adults. Every action we start, for good or ill, plays an important role in forming the mind and realities of our children. I think sometimes this can be forgotten, as many lessons are taught through the perceptions of your actions. They are always watching, listening,and absorbing the lessons of life. It is essential we live in a manner that we would hope they will emulate and give them the basis to make sound and honorable decisions in their own lives when the time comes.

We are all stewards of the Earth, not masters. It is our duty to live in harmony and strive to maintain that healthy balance, for their sake. When I see the children out picking flowers for mom, and being sure to only take one and leave the rest as they found them, or my daughter rescuing an abandoned baby mouse or tadpoles from a drying puddle, or my son picking up litter off the street simply because it is there - I know they are learning these lessons well.

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." --Native American Proverb