After years of trying, a father finally succeeded in getting his daughter to comprehend the love he felt for her. She had just given birth and the baby became her centre, her point of focus. “Now,” said the woman’s father: “you will understand how much I love you.”
Often, children come first. Savings, friendships, and leisure time – everything revolves around your child. Why do we happily sacrifice our pleasures, our money, sometimes even our lives?
Why have children in the first place?
There are the usual explanations: we procreate to perpetuate the species, out of duty, for moral beliefs, to reassure ourselves, out of passion. But the focus is the child itself. We make babies because we need them; we need them because they need us. The bond that makes us children to our parents and parents to our children is indestructible.
We have children to honour our parents – a debt that can never be paid, only transferred. “You are not only my son,” Maimonides, a 12th-century philosopher once told his child. “You are also my father’s grandson.”
If you want your children to turn out well (meaning good human beings), spend twice as much time with them and half as much money on them. The only thing of real value we can give our children is what “we are,” and not what “we have.”
If I had influence with the ultimate power that presides over the creation of all children, I would ask that the gift to each child in this world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout its life, as an unfailing antedote against boredom and disenchantment of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from its own sources of strength.
With permission from Azad Iqbal, Barrister from Lincoln’s Inn, London; he is a renowned Poet and an accomplished Musician.
As a daughter, this article really hit home for me. I’ve always known the depth of my father’s love, but this article beautifully captures something I’ve never quite put into words. The way he’s always put me first, made sacrifices, and shown me unwavering support. This piece made me reflect on just how rare and priceless that bond truly is. It’s a reminder of how much love a parent gives, and how truly unbreakable that connection is.
This article particularly touched my core… the parental bond is inexplicable and special ..and for me what “stood out” in the article is the “need” to “spend time” with our children…. for the Gen Z / Millenials, this article would truly be a guide…
Happy Mother’s Day!
The love between a parent and a child is the only love that is truly selfless, unconditional, and forgiving.