“The roots of effective leadership lie in simple things, one of which is listening. Listening to someone demonstrates respect; it shows that you value their ideas and are willing to hear them.” – John Baldoni. The thought of effective leadership bring me back memories….Mom’s are almost like Michelangelo’s….They can create a beautiful baby and influence his life forever. Think about it just for a second imagine…. The first time I heard somewhat of similar explanation from my mother and that my son should always be first priority I freaked out…All my romantic notions of having my own little baby like a little toy was gone. The thought of so much responsibility was overwhelming… But what my mother said to me and explained to me the entire discussion we had that day is struck by me even to this day.
The day is still so fresh in my memory I was a bit irritable that day because I have my final tests and my little boy of four months was bothering me. I was not finding enough time to prepare for my finals. I guess I was stressed. My mum was nice. She said I know you are stressed and your education is important but imagine what would have happened if I was a lot more selfish, didn’t bother to work and didn’t bother to pay enough attention, plan for your education and career and such. I didn’t complain much that day but I kept thinking. This conversation we had never went away.
Here I am now. Today with two pairs of eyes constantly watching my every move what is mom going to do next? It still freaks me out. I constantly strive to do better. These two boys are so smart if I make one mistake, one wrong move they bring my attention to it right back.
Just the other day, while I was driving, I cussed. I never usually do that and I forgot just for that moment there that my younger son was in my car. He got so mad at me and said “Mom! That’s a bad word, do not say bad words. I made a sincere apology and promised him, I will try not to do that again. I had to remind myself I need to be very alert all the time. These two boys are very smart and are watching every step I take. The older I get they still watch me and this will never end… Parents will always be very influencing persons in a Childs life. when I say being a parent is my first and most important job/career there is nothing wrong with it I guess….Parents are the Michelangelo’s that collectively create America, India and the rest of the world, we create the future leaders. Moms need to cultivate self-respect, honor the inner being. We must be gentle and kind to ourselves first before we can teach our children about self-respect and respecting humanity. On a similar note, we must also remember that neither the soul nor human intelligence has a gender.
“Self-respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It cannot be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth, we have spoken it.”-Whitney Griswold.
Radhika Bauerle Radhika Puranam 