Harmony Within The Family
“Nothing is more important for the public wealth than to
form
and train up youth in wisdom and virtue."
~Benjamin Franklin~
My name is Frank SanGregory and I happen to believe that the family unit is a very important part of our society.
Now, that's really an understatement. So, let me put it another way.
I believe that it is crucial for our
society to have a strong and healthy family unit in order to survive.
I believe that to the extent that the
family unit is destroyed, to that same extent will our society will be destroyed.
I certainly respect your right to disagree, but ask that you read below.
It seems that one of the most perplexing questions of this society these days is "How do we bring up
our kids in the midst of all the problems that we have out there?" And--make no mistake
about it, we do have a lot of problems! We've got the drugs, we've got the cars that go
at break-neck speeds,and we've got the booze that our children can drink when they get into
these cars. We've got teenage suicide and all the teenage pregnancies--happening in good
families! So what do we do? How do we bring up our kids in the midst of all this? Some
of the experts claim that we say "no" too often to our kids--while others suggest that we don’t say "no"
often enough. We can go to the library and read what they all have to say. But the problem is,
there are so many conflicting opinions. So, what in the world do we do??
Well, I have some ideas for you. Ideas that in my opinion can stop the hurt--ideas that can
make life a little less complicated when it comes to raising your children--ideas that could
eliminate a lot of stress in the relationship with your children. Actually, they are really not
my ideas and they certainly are not new! They’ve been around a long time. The problem is
that too many of us have just sort of forgotten about them. These are the ideas that I want to
share with you. Again, you may agree with what I have to say, or you may disagree. If you disagree, that's
OK. I certainly respect your right to feel the way that you do. I just ask that you give it
some deep thought and think about it with an open mind.
In addition to food, shelter and clothing, there are four other things that our children
desperately need
--four other things that so many of them are not getting. Below is a statement of my belief.
Love:
Our children need us to show them that we love them and to tell them that we
love them. They need us to put our arms around them and hug them, and to tell
them that they are a very important part of our lives. It's important that we
communicate this to our children. I believe that it's CRUCIAL
that we communicate this message to our children. I'm not just talking to
the mothers, I'm talking to the fathers as well. I know--I've worked around men
and I've heard all the tough talk--things like "Well--we men don't show that kind of
emotion--that's for their mother to do." If that's the way any of you men feel, then
you are totally wrong. Gentlemen, your kids need you to put your arms around them and
hug them
just as much as they need it from their mother. Do you ever notice when you watch a
professional
foot ball game how they act when they make a touch-down. All these big burley men go
around hugging each other. That's OK if that's what they want to do. But, I wonder how
many of these big
burley men can go home and hug their own children. You see--drugs are not the problem.
Alcohol is
not the problem. They are only symptoms of the real problem. The problem in the
majority of cases
is that children feel unloved--unwanted. Please be assured that I'm not just making that up.
I've heard
too many people who work with problem children say the same thing. Now, is that the
case
in every situation where there are problems? Certainly not. There are exception to every
rule. But
in the majority of cases, that is the problem. So think about that.
Attention:
We’ve got to give them our attention. We’ve got to spend some time with our children. I
know, we’re all too busy. We’ve got to work and make a living. I understand
that--I also had to work to support a family. But, let me put it this way because it’s so
important: If you don’t have time to spend with your children, then it’s crucial that you
that you make some changes so that you do have time. Someone once said,"If you haven't time to help youngsters
find the right way in life, somebody with more time will help them find the wrong way."
Since I don’t know you’re particular
situation, I can’t tell you how you should go about it. And I know there are situations
where it can be very difficult. So I’m not putting anyone down whose job situation is such
that it’s almost impossible. OK? But I think it would be a good idea to sit down and give it some
serious thought--maybe you could come up with something. Look at your schedule to see where you can
fit your children in. Somehow you have to come up with something because your children
need you.
Guidelines:
We’ve got to set guidelines for them. You see--our kids have got to know when they are
in bounds and when they are out of bounds. And don’t we all? Contrary to what they may
be telling you, they are screaming for guidelines. If anyone finds that hard to believe,
go to the library and get one of Dr. Benjamin Spock's latest books.Yes, I know--I said his latest
books since they, in my opinion, give a
different message than his earlier books did. Or read Dr. James
Dobson’s book, Dare To Discipline. See what they have to say about it. And I’m
old fashioned enough to believe that it’s OK to tell our kids that certain things are just
morally wrong--period. Now I know that I might get a little flack on that. I know
what some of the "new age" thinking is on that. Some are saying that we should leave
that up to the kids; that we should let them figure out that sort of thing for themselves. Well--all I can say to that is to
take a look around--take a good look. See what’s going on in our schools. See what’s going on
outside of our schools. Do you think that they have it all figured out???
Some time ago I was going through the channels on the TV and I got the tail-end of a
program that I wished I would have watched from the beginning. It was called, On
Values, by Peggy Noonan. I would like to share with you some of the things that were
said by the person that she was interviewing. These are not his exact words since I didn’t
write it down as he was talking. But, basically this is what he said. "The buzz-word these
days is individual freedom. The problem is that when we have too much freedom, we
sometimes choose over-indulgence instead of self control. Now, of course, our freedom
should be cherished and we should be thankful that we have it. But, freedom without
responsibility will destroy or society." He went on to say, "It’s too bad these days when
one speaks in public, he/she must be careful as to what he says. That is, words like
morality, like responsibility; words like self control--we must be very careful where we use
these words these days. And isn’t it a shame because these are good words. Our society
will be better when those who speak in public have the courage to use these "out-dated"
words. In America today we have over one million people in prison. It seems that the
number has increased when we stopped using these words." It certainly give us something
to think about doesn’t it?
Dr. Benjamin Spock, who in his time was one of the leading authorities on raising children,
says in one of his books, "Child Psychology cannot substitute for morality." Remember, this is not one of our
religious leaders saying this. It is a child psychologist. An excellent book on this subject
is Dr. James Dobson’s The New Dare To Discipline. One important fact to remember about
setting guidelines is this: If we say one thing to our children, but do another , then our
actions will speak so loud that they will not hear one word we
say! You know what I mean.
Adult Role-Model:
We've got to set guidelines for
our children and they need a good adult role-model. Let me say that again, a good role model! Someone they can look up to; someone
they can admire. A hero! That’s what they need!
And I’ll guarantee you one thing--your kids are going to find a hero. Guaranteed! Just as
sure as you breathe--just as sure as the law of gravity. You know--if you get on top of a
building and
jump, you will always go down--you will never go up. That’s the law of gravity. You can
depend on it. And just as sure as that law of gravity, your kids are going to find a hero.
They are either going to find it in you, or they will find it in someone else. The problem
is--if they find it in someone else, you don’t know who that might be. There’s a good
chance that they may find it in someone who is not good for them. Now, you don’t have
to take my word for that. Turn on your TV and grab hold of the remote. Start going
through the channels--take a look--take a good look at who some of these heroes are! Is
this what you want for your kids?? Or would you--yourself--rather be their hero. You can
be if you really want to.
So, how do we become their hero? Now, that’s a good question isn’t it? And I really can’t
give you a definite answer to that question since every person has a different personality.
Besides, you may already know the answer for your own particular situation. If you don’t
know the answer, I’m going to suggest a way to find out. What I think that all of us
should do once in a while is to get off by ourselves--some place where it’s quite and where
we can be alone. Maybe down along the river--in the woods--someplace by a quiet stream.
Any place where we can be by ourselves. And then we remove our mask--we all have one, we lay aside the
role that we play in society. We then ask our self some serious questions about our
relationship with our children--our relationship with our spouse--our relationship with the
world. And then by being brutally honest with ourselves, we see what kind of
answers we come up with. And then we do our best to start living by those
answers. Someone once said that the solutions to all of our problems are within us. Oliver
Windell Holmes said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us.
If someone were to say to me, "Frank, when you die" and I will some day. Some day
we’re all going to shed this cocoon. But if someone said to me, "Frank, when you die,
if there were one message that you could leave to the world, what would it be?" I’d
say--Love your children, give them your attention, set good guidelines for them and for
goodness sake, be their hero!
Victor Frankl said it best in his book, Man’s Search For
Meaning. Viktor Frankl was a survivor of one of the Nazi concentration camps. And,
of course, none of us can imagine the agony, the horror and the indignities and suffering
that he and others like him went through. But in the mist of all this, in his book he says,
"And suddenly a thought transfixed me; for the first time in my life I saw the truth as set
into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The
truth--that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I
grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and
belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love."
In his book, Healing Words, Dr. Larry Dossey says, "If scientists suddenly
discovered a drug that was as powerful as love in creating health, it would be heralded as
a medical break-through and marketed overnight." Exaggerated statement??
I think not.
Think about it. You know--what I have always thought was that if we in this world don’t
feel like showing love and compassion to one another, then if at least we didn’t go out of
our way to treat each other so nasty, it sure would be a remarkable improvement. I agree
with Dr. Dossey. I don’t think that he makes an exaggerated statement.
So, that’s where it’s all at. That is what will produce peace, and harmony in our family.
That is what will produce peace and harmony in our world. Not our stockpile of weapons.
Not our advance in military technology--although I’m not suggesting that we go back to
the bow and arrow. But kindness and compassion and respect for each other. That will
work. And besides, isn’t that the way that we human beings ought to treat each other
anyway?? And how do you and I accomplish this task in our world?? We do it by starting it
right in our own families. A tall order?? Too much to ask?? Well, as someone once said,
"It’s better to light a tiny little candle than to curse the darkness."
If you wish, you can contact me here
