Dear all,
Yes, my heart skips a beat (perhaps two) when my kids climb higher—out on the limb. On one hand, I want them to break their limits. On the other, I don’t want them to break their bones.
I suppose every parent feels this—the powerful tension between holding on and letting go.
And while my breath catches in those moments, I know that real growth never happens when we stay on the ground. We have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable—to leave what’s familiar and explore the unknown.
We all want our kids to know that the world opens up when – in that moment in time -we dare to step beyond safety. When we go out on a limb, we don’t just find our balance—we find our strength.
Eventually (after lots of coaxing), they came back down. A scrape here. Schmutz there. My heart found the beat it had skipped …. That is until they discovered an even higher tree down the street.
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
