Dear Kids,
Dads have an almost uncontrollable need to impart wisdom to their children. I’m no exception; I might actually be a bit obsessed with fulfilling this self-imposed duty. The problem is that the great lessons of life can’t be easily reduced to nuggets and nearly every truth has glaring exceptions. Contrary to what you will hear some assert, there are vanishingly few absolutes in life. If someone tries to convince you otherwise be very, very suspicious. See, there I go again desperately trying to impart wisdom; dogma isn’t even the topic of the day. Focus Daddy…
So here it is: more often than not in life, you’ll do better if you stand apart from the crowd. Let me give you an example. You’re getting older and soon you’ll find that your friends will largely rather die than show their parents any form of public affection. It’s vital that you stand apart from the crowd in this respect. Continuing to show affection to your parents by publicly hugging and kissing them even in the face of ridicule from your peers is a sign of great character. Okay, so that was a little self-serving…but still very true.
So here’s the tough part kids–standing apart when you’re young can lead to great scorn but standing apart as you grow older can define you as a great human being. History is filled with examples of people who managed to accomplish great things by standing apart from the crowd even in the face of pressure to conform. They’re the people who stood against cruel governments and armies to protect the innocent. They’re the voices of reason who knew, in spite of others screaming against them, that no one should ever be judged by where they come from or the color of their skin. They’re the men and women who imagined the unimaginable; from their uniqueness we learned secrets of the human body, the natural world and the universe.
It’s not easy to stand apart kids–even as an adult. You’ll feel alone at times but I want you to know that even when you feel deserted you’ll have at least two people unwaveringly supporting your uncommon actions; Mom and Dad will always stand by you when you choose to stand apart…so please keep the kisses and hugs coming even when you’re big. You kind of owe us.
Love always,
Dad
28 Comments
Well put, and a perfectly accompanied photo.
Dear Christopher,
)
You nearly made me cry but i thank you so much.
I would have liked to read such warm and clever words written by my parents… who expected me to… conform.
I had other plans for my own life… Our relationships are often so harsh that silent has become the best solution (i guess Time will helps us to communicate again)
Lucky kids you have !!
And again, thanks to share your beautiful thoughts and photos.
Nice words of wisdom and fitting picture to go with them.
once again splendid post with a very intense words and a beautiful and creative photo associated with it, wonderful work Chris
Christopher! Great message for kids! and a wonderful image. Reminds me if you stand on your own….you then walk to a different song in life.
You continue to marvel us with your amazing posts Christopher. You seem to have benefited from a wonderful family foundation, which you are now providing to your kids. As Aurore mentions, your kids are fortunate to have such a wonderful foundation to build on. Great post and photograph!
Excellent find.
Wonderful photo
Simple and full of meaning
great work
This is so sweet..and so wise. I do hope your children will read this today..and then read it again later on in life with greater understanding and appreciation of your love and guidance!!! Perfect – with the accompanying image!
Wow, simply the best! Like like like
Beautiful shot!
minimalistic, tiny and cute
excellent framing, superb shot
and i can play it on the piano
Wonderful musical sheet with those birds as notes, and yes, one has to dare to stay apart in some occasions but that means one need to have the others close just to feel apart
We need both, for sure. You have a super week, C*
The most beautiful kind of minimalism is this kind! Great work!
Splendid composition. This photo really illustrates your words perfectly.
Inspiring post, the confusion is when to stand apart and when to join peer pressure. The right of passage every child learns.
At first glance, it almost looked like musical graph notes.
wonderful minimalist image.
Like musical notes on sheet paper
I really like this shot.
So many family photographs, and I noticed that as a teenager I was always (physically) a good foot away from the rest of the family. Interesting and so true.
Wonderful Message and a lovely photograph to go with it!
excellent, tout simplement !
Very nice compo, so graphical. bravo
looks like musical notes!
Listen to your Dad, kids. It’s good advice.
(Nice photo, too, Chris.)
…and listen to your kids too Dad! Out of the mouths of babes…
Excellent picture shot!
A nice letter to your children. I love your picture mnimaliste. Simple and great!
a very thoughtful message coming out of the image of the birds and the odd one out… nothing odd about the fella btw
I really love this picture… like the musical bars..
and it reminds me about how i hate to read musical sheets.
good gems of advise for kiddies.