There is an ancient African Proverb that says, “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”. So today I pose the question to all of you – What Does Your Village Look Like?
I ask this because as most of you would agree, we live in a crazy and wonderful world. The current ‘world’ climate is that of unrest, and at times of insane insecurity (in terms of our safety) yet it is said that we are living in perhaps one of the most exciting times in history – personally I’m not sure that I agree, I think seeing the first car or airplane or listening to the first radio broadcast or experiencing electricity for the first time would have been pretty cool. In any case ‘they’ say that this time in history has topped the charts.
The wonderful world I’m referring to, well all you have to do is look out the window and marvel at the beauty that is set before us – our eyes feast on the incredible and the magnificent everyday however many of us are caught in the ‘to busy’ to see the beauty of nature that is set before us.
For those of you who are parents and those who are hoping and planning to be I would like to encourage you to begin building your village now. As a parent I believe the ancient African Proverb to be true…..it does take a village to raise a child. We weren’t designed to live life alone; we were designed to be in relationship and to help each other throughout this incredible journey. I come from a small town community and from experience I can tell you that there is much to be learned by observing a small community and how things work. From equal experience I can comfortably say and most would agree with me that sadly, the big city has lost much of that togetherness.
Many of us live global lives, meaning we live apart from family and support networks. Actually, for some, even though you may be living down the street from your parents, or in the same suburb the relationship isn’t there and hence your support structure is broken. It is essential that we build and establish our villages, our places of safety and trust in this big old world. So before I sign off today I ask, What Does Your Village Look Like?
Jump on tomorrow and read Part 2 which is about our village and our recent weekend away.
Have the best day and remember….the world looks better through smiling eyes.
Susan xoxo
7 comments:
I agree, I agree, I agree. Thank you for writing this. We are all in need of community. I am searching for it and trying desperately to create it.
Rhonda
Here in Fiji, I love watching village life. Everybody takes part in raising the children and everyone has their part to play in community life.
No one is ever left out or lonely and there is always a mat or some floor space for those who need somewhere to sleep for the night.
Nobody goes hungry even when there's little to go around and people do things together.
Even though many don't have electricity and running water, there's much our western society can learn from this set up!
Jane
Exactly Jane. I'm currently reading TOO SMALL TO IGNORE by Wess Stafford (founder of Compassion - Child Sponsorship), he was raised in a very remote African Village and tells stories about the generations teaching one another and the responsibilities the children have in terms of family life. It's amazing how much we 'could' learn from these other cultures if we simply took a moment to look and listen.
Susan
My village at the moment is the little old man that walks down Castle Street , Castle Hill that I have now picked up 3 times to take to the RSL. He is 80 and can hardly walk, last Friday as I drove to the Towers he was there again, this time trying to get someone to stop and give him a lift, it would have been 500 meters if that. So I did a U-Turn and popped him in the car. He said no one would stop, what a sad reflection on our Society. Our lives move so fast we have lost the sense of community. I encourge us all to look for the opportunites and be different.
Jo
That's fantastic Jo, I love that you stopped and took the time to care. Good on you.
Most people wouldn't. So sad that we isolate ourselves in western society so much.
I loved that book Susan..
Jane
2 years ago my wife and I made the decision to move our family (4 children) from the 'big city' back to my home town (which boasts a population of approximately 1000). I must say, it was the best move we have made. Our children walk or ride their bikes to school, my son has a paper route and life, as we know it, is fantastic. We know our neighbours very well and have known many of the families in town for 2 generations. The village thing you're talking about is a 'must have', not all of you can or will enjoy the small town life but where ever you find yourself you CAN create your village -- it's important for the life of your family.
Robert
Susan, you have touched on a very important subject, we all need a village environment. It can take ages to create this village but don't give up, it is possible.
Great stuff Susan.
Belinda
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