It was the beginning of the holiday season. My sister and I decided to go with our families to see the colourful Christmas decorations Zenith Bank so graciously put up. There was excitement in the air as we walked along. We soon reached a portion of the side walk that had undergone some degradation and I held my daughter’s hand to guide her safely through.

I didn’t want her to hurt her foot or step into the puddle of water but she didn’t know this so she pulled away from me and rushed forward. I called her back and explained why I had to hold her hand and my beloved little princess said to me, ‘I can find my own way by myself. I don’t need your help for that’.

Wow! That was a shocker. I found myself saying, ‘then walk by yourself’. I let her go; my hurt feelings had gotten the better of me but my rational mind said, ‘get a grip. She’s five’.

Well, it took about two and a half days for me to get to the bottom of this and here is what I found. Taking care of children gives you a deep sense of purpose. You feel needed and valuable because they depend on you for so much. This adds to your sense of worth, but time goes by and they grow up and become more and more independent.

Same scenario also plays out sometimes in our dealings with people. They need you at some point and then things change and they don’t need you so much anymore… or they don’t need you at all. What then?

Will you get upset and begin to recount to those people all you’ve done for them and call them ungrateful? Or will you stand back and acknowledge the development and the progress they’ve made and be pleased that you contributed to that?

As we go through life, we need to make sure that our sense of worth is not founded on things that are ephemeral; rather, it should rest on things that endure like good values and the principles we live by. In addition, we need to need to learn to let go after we’ve done our part so the nest doesn’t become a cage.

Picture credit:  

https://www.lifepositive.com/learn-to-let-go/