The Dignity of Their Experience

So yesterday I was running an errand for a friend,

and look at this brilliant banner that caught my eye.

It's on the wall outside the new Kendra Scott store at our Mall,

and it made me want to know more. It even made me

want to buy something just to support the mission,

even though I don't even wear much jewelry at all.

I was especially drawn to their Dolly Parton collection;

have you seen it? I love the elegant Ari heart musical note.

Speaking of errands, when my friend Dawn and I made our monthly Meals on Wheels run this morning, we were blessed to include these greeting cards from some special young artists at my friend Tanya's school.

Such a fun collaboration to brighten their day

and feed not only their bodies but their souls.

On another note, I've been thinking about something my very wise younger sister said to me as we were talking parenting and mentorship recently: Let them them have the dignity of their experience.

Consider this AI overview:

It reminds me a little bit about the essence of someone needing to hit their own bottom before being ready to accept the wisdom that you're so desperately trying to impart or assistance that you're so willingly offering to give. And it gives me pause, because I still tend to want to fix things.

Then I'm reminded about the butterfly.

If this beautiful chrysalis is going to transform into a butterfly that can actually fly, and I interfere with the natural process by trying to help it emerge, I'm actually handicapping it, and, perhaps even killing it.

We have to let the butterfly struggle.

Adversity is a great teacher.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

The greenest grass is, ironically enough, in the valley.

It's a gift to give our kids the dignity of their experience.

Why is that so hard for us to do?

More importantly, what might happen if we don't?