RAISING A CHILD

‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’

It takes only two people to produce a child but it takes more than two people to raise the child. Once a child is born into the world, many people come to celebrate with the family of the child. From the moment of the celebration, the child is exposed to different faces apart from the face of its mother or other family members.

Then, the child would grow up to learn about the environment and the people in the neighborhood. Later, the child would go to school and meet new friends from different background and with different upbringing. While relating with the new friends, the child may choose to influence the new friends or allow himself/herself to be influenced by them. The teachers and the school management also play a very special role in raising up a child while at school. Then outside the school; the society, the social and electronic media, the government and the religious organizations are also responsible for raising up a child. Whatever a child chooses to learn from any of these mediums while growing up is likely to determine what the child would become in life.

Like the child described above, it takes only the creator to create us but it takes the whole world to raise us (i.e. it takes more than our parents or family members to raise us). So, as long as you are in the world, you can’t run away from being influenced by the world. You can only determine if you want to be influenced positively or negatively as you grow up in life.

There are many distractions in the world today that may distract you from moving farther in life. You need to set some principles for yourself and endeavor to strictly adhere to the principles. If you choose to listen to everybody in life and do everything they ask you to do, you may end up spending the rest of your life in the asylum. Your principles should help you to determine what you accept into your life, who you relate with, where you go, what you do and how you do things in life.

Apart from that, you are expected to know that it takes more than your parents to determine your success in life (though they constitute the major part). Your friends, your colleagues at work, your employees, your employer, your partners, your political leaders, your religious leaders, your landlord, your tenants, your house help, your janitors, your relatives, your neighbors, your critics, your competitors and of course your enemies are all created by nature to raise you in life.

If you fail to start seeing everyone around you as your destiny helper (especially your critics, competitors or enemies) you may never move ahead in life. Don’t run away from your enemies and don’t embrace them but be yourself. At times, your enemies may be your best teacher in life. You are not expected to follow or accept everything that your critics throw at you, you are only meant to learn from them. Remember, it takes a whole village to raise a child.

May you never die in ignorance.

Don't start your day without a word from the ancestors...remember, a word is enough for the wise. Sign up with us for a daily feed. Follow @our_ancestors on twitter or email: wordsofourancestors@gmail.com. May your days be plenty!