Raft

I heard this Buddhist parable and thought it was worth writing down.

A man has to cross a jungle.   He comes across a river.  There is no bridge.  The river is to deep to walk through.  The river is not safe to swim across. He spends time to build a raft.  He crosses the river and continues to cross the jungle.  This time, he carries the raft.  It gets in his way constantly and prevents him from crossing the rest of the jungle.  He realizes he needs to put the raft down.

It immediately made me think about parenting.  Yusuf and Nooriya have changed so much these past few years and inshallah they will continue to.  That's what they're supposed to do.  I have pictures of them as toddlers and little kids covering my office.  I look at them all the time.  It makes me happy, but they aren't those people anymore.  I'll be a better parent to remember that.  I'm in a different stage of parenting now.

I've spent so much time building a "raft".  This story applies to so much in life.  It applies to parenting, work, family situations, ability to use my body, and even friendships.  

Taher, sometimes you need to put the "raft" down.  What got you here may not be what gets you there.