Elizabeth A. Leib

by Elizabeth A. Leib

So many articles and talk about parenting are at best silly claptrap and at worst, self-serving rambles by people convinced of their superior knowledge and skills. This one has a child in law school, that one in a prestigious prep school. We must endure with good grace their golden droppings as they strut and fluff atop a nest feathered by their children’s accomplishments. It’s tiresome to be in the company of such a person who never tires of the smell of their proven theories.

The good news is the world is filled with the wise and the foolish. I happened to be leafing through Natural Awakenings, a free health magazine published locally and found one of the most helpful articles on parenting by Thomas Moore I’ve read recently. In college I enjoyed reading his book Care of the Soul (not to be confused with Thomas Merton’s Seeds of Contemplation).

Moore writes personally, sharing a story about when his daughter is diagnosed with an autoimmune illness. He connects spirituality with parenting and the ways it can, for those who are alert, remove false virtue and increase faith. I particularly share his idea of the end goal: to help a child become a thoughtful, engaged adult. For me and my parenting partner it’s a goal worthy of the effort.