One of the joys of summers in the Finger Lakes are watching the ospreys. They raise their young in boxes attached to utility poles along the road. Last year I learned that the family does not travel south together. The mother has already left- exhausted she goes to rest up before starting all over again. The father stays a few weeks to continue training the young, but then leaves the newbie alone. Talk about tough love! Sometimes I have heard the lonely child crying from one of the tall trees in the area.
I've been listening to Michelle Obama on YouTube. In one interview she shared that, once she and her brother started going to school, their mom gave them each alarm clocks and told them they were responsible for getting themselves up and going. Again, tough love.
Question for me- have we forgotten the art of tough love? Have we become too afraid to offend? Are we not sufficiently valuing what can be gained from letting someone learn from their mistakes? I plan to dwell on these questions during my meditation time.
