It Starts With YOU!!

   Too many times I've seen parents who do things like yell at their kids to try to get them to stop fighting, or do nothing but talk about people behind their backs and then expect their children to be trusting, loving kids. Or how about this one... the parent feeds the kid nothing but fast food and soda and then gets on to them about their weight, telling them they need to go out and exercise when the diet they are on allows no energy. These are only a few examples of parents doing one thing and then expecting their children to do the opposite. I'm sorry but it just doesn't work like that. Children (to a point) become exactly what they see. I think if we had even the slightest idea of how much our kids were learning from the way we behave we would have a whole new outlook on what we do. I know I would.

   When I think back on my childhood I don't remember all the big exciting stuff as much as I do the one on one talks, the drives with only my mom in the car when we had nothing but each other to keep ourselves busy. I remember the music that was in the household, I remember that when all my friends as a kid were stepping on frogs and killing bugs for the hell of it somehow I knew that was wrong. Although I wasn't raised vegan I always knew where our food came from and the sacrifice that had to be made. Luckily as an adult I chose to not eat animals but even that decision had to come from somewhere and I honestly believe it came from growing up in a compassionate household. Ok, before my mom gets a big head reading this let me tell you that there were a lot of decisions along the way that made me who I am today. I was a Haight/Ashbury guy for a number of years in San Francisco, enjoying being a teenager and doing the hippie thing all over the country and going to Rainbow Gatherings (look it up) and in doing all of this, when a lot of people my age were going to collage and getting jobs I was traveling the country volunteering for different kitchens, having long discussions with my friends about how to make the world a better place, and practicing love and compassion in my everyday living. And while I wouldn't have even had a foundation to go on had it not been for my childhood I also had to grow up and implement these things in to action.

   This is the hope for all parents, that your kids will grow up and be the people you wanted them to be. I am here to tell you that unless they see your actions reflect your beliefs you have a slim chance of seeing all your hard work pay off in the way of a compassionate child. I don't want to go on and on about my kids, Zach 9, Ben 7, and Dylan 1 month, there's plenty of time for that, and trust me I will, but I can tell you that we never have problems with them being mean to other kids. We never have problems with them raising their voices because we don't raise our voice. We almost never have any of the major problems that I see most parents having. Of course now that I've said that publicly our 1 month old is going to grow up to be a cage fighter but I'll take that risk.

   I guess what I'm trying to say is that it starts with you as a parent. It starts with you being compassionate. It starts with you not yelling at the driver that just cut you off. It starts with you being nice to people in front of your kid and then calling them a jackass when they turn around to the same kid. It starts with at least explaining where your food comes from. If you eat a meat based diet let them know that an animal had to die so that they could eat. Explain to them that life is precious and not to be taken advantage of. My own personal hope is that you already are or are thinking about switching to a more compassionate diet. I can't tell you how much teaching/learning time we have had with our kids just by eating a diet that allows life to go on as it should. You will have a hard time telling them that all life is equal when they have a hamburger on their plate... just sayin'

   Ok I'm done. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings. If you have any questions or comments please post them and I will respond as soon as I can. And if I can figure out how to post pics I will leave pics of my lil ones below. One Love, One Life, One World

                                                                                                 Nameste,
                                                                                                      Sid