My five year old daughter, Fiona, recently decided that she was going to have to send me to hair-braiding school. This decision didn't come from out of the blue. Fiona and her sister have bore the brunt of all my struggles with tending little girls' hair. During my time as a single dad, they were regularly dropped off at preschool with huge knots on the top of their head. When I did manage to get the tangles straightened out, their pony tails usually pointed in the wrong direction and barely had the staying power to make it through the beginning of the morning.
Thankfully, my wife handles the majority of the hair issues in our house now. That is almost entirely a good thing, except for the fact that Fiona's hair expectations have increased dramatically. Where my little princess used to be happy with half-cocked pony tail, now she expect full braids. Unfortunately, my hair tying skills remain bleak, similar to my knot-tying skills in the military and tie-tying skills in the corporate world. I'm lucking to keep one out of two of my own shoes tied.
Despite my inadequacies, I do appreciate the physics of hair braiding. The over-and-through of a braid combines force against force. Using the power of one series of strands to secure and bind another series. The binders, become the bound, and then bind again. Each comes from a different direction, a different position, yet is essential to the creation of the whole. The combination of the series of strands working together to create something more strong and beautiful than they could be alone.
While hair braiding evades me, I've learned a lot of other lessons through the process of being a father. One of the most interesting lessons is how pre-programmed every human being is straight from the womb. Good parenting, a safe environment and schooling is important; but there's no denying that a certain amount of temperament is just born in. Dr. Jerome Kagan's research team at Harvard University developed some of the strongest research in this field, particularly as it applies to people with highly reactive anxious temperaments. Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts expands on Dr. Kagan's theories to explain how people with inborn introverted characters play essential roles in our society - roles traditionally can't be filled by people with a more outgoing and exuberant nature.
In a similar but different direction, Dr. Nassir Ghaemi's book, A First-Rate Madness, makes a strong argument that leaders who live with depression or bipolar disorder are essential during times of crisis because of the slightly different way that their brains perceive the world. Winston Churchill credited his depression with allowing him to understand the threat that Hitler posed when Neville Chamberlain did not. Dr. Ghaemi points to President Lincoln, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. as other examples of leaders' with depressive viewpoints that changed the course of the world.
Each individual is born with our own temperament, intellect, strengths, and weaknesses. Like strands in a braid, we interact with each others observations and viewpoint. This mix of religions, cultures and philosophies forms the tapestry of human history. It's a exacerbating and sometimes painful process whether the interactions are occurring in our homes, at work, or half way across the world; but it essential to fulfilling Creation.
While I'm fascinated by the psychological, anthropological, and evolutionary descriptions of this process; my personal favorite overall description of the human condition, our interactions with each other, and the goal of those interactions will always be from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for their is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Matthew 5:3-12.
Note: Check out Susan Cain's Ted Talk to learn more about about inborn temperament and the power of introverts.
Thankfully, my wife handles the majority of the hair issues in our house now. That is almost entirely a good thing, except for the fact that Fiona's hair expectations have increased dramatically. Where my little princess used to be happy with half-cocked pony tail, now she expect full braids. Unfortunately, my hair tying skills remain bleak, similar to my knot-tying skills in the military and tie-tying skills in the corporate world. I'm lucking to keep one out of two of my own shoes tied.
Despite my inadequacies, I do appreciate the physics of hair braiding. The over-and-through of a braid combines force against force. Using the power of one series of strands to secure and bind another series. The binders, become the bound, and then bind again. Each comes from a different direction, a different position, yet is essential to the creation of the whole. The combination of the series of strands working together to create something more strong and beautiful than they could be alone.
While hair braiding evades me, I've learned a lot of other lessons through the process of being a father. One of the most interesting lessons is how pre-programmed every human being is straight from the womb. Good parenting, a safe environment and schooling is important; but there's no denying that a certain amount of temperament is just born in. Dr. Jerome Kagan's research team at Harvard University developed some of the strongest research in this field, particularly as it applies to people with highly reactive anxious temperaments. Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts expands on Dr. Kagan's theories to explain how people with inborn introverted characters play essential roles in our society - roles traditionally can't be filled by people with a more outgoing and exuberant nature.
In a similar but different direction, Dr. Nassir Ghaemi's book, A First-Rate Madness, makes a strong argument that leaders who live with depression or bipolar disorder are essential during times of crisis because of the slightly different way that their brains perceive the world. Winston Churchill credited his depression with allowing him to understand the threat that Hitler posed when Neville Chamberlain did not. Dr. Ghaemi points to President Lincoln, Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. as other examples of leaders' with depressive viewpoints that changed the course of the world.
Each individual is born with our own temperament, intellect, strengths, and weaknesses. Like strands in a braid, we interact with each others observations and viewpoint. This mix of religions, cultures and philosophies forms the tapestry of human history. It's a exacerbating and sometimes painful process whether the interactions are occurring in our homes, at work, or half way across the world; but it essential to fulfilling Creation.
While I'm fascinated by the psychological, anthropological, and evolutionary descriptions of this process; my personal favorite overall description of the human condition, our interactions with each other, and the goal of those interactions will always be from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for their is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Matthew 5:3-12.
Note: Check out Susan Cain's Ted Talk to learn more about about inborn temperament and the power of introverts.
No comments:
Post a Comment