Posts made in September, 2019

Home is where …

Posted by Theresa Lutge-Smith on Sep 18, 2019 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

For some, home is a lavish room in the heart of each person, a nest fashionably feathered with love, devotion and fond memories. For others, the very thought of holding on to memories yields nothing less than a blackened heart. Deep-seated resentment recalls the pain of parental discipline that regularly spun out of control. Unconditional Love Home can also be a place to live in, where love builds a happy home from the inside out, where family members can let their guard down, are free to express themselves without fear of criticism, a place where people are fertile with peace, vitality and potential in all aspects of life. Home is also intended to represent an environment where the occupants can count on a reliable source of comfort, unconditional love, encouragement, emotional nourishment, safety and heartfelt nurturance. Delightful Nuances While the tail-wagging dog and other happy pets are familiar signs of wholesome family life, the outer home is a reflection of the inner home. An untended garden, litter and broken appliances rusting in the sun, speak volumes about the level of wickedness taking place behind closed doors. Laughter, music and the delicious aroma of dinner combine to warrant the assumption that there is no other place quite like home, with all its delightful nuances. Teaching Children Knowing what influences or actions toppled the proverbial apple-cart may take one back to a time preferably forgotten, often during our impressionable childhood years. Functioning households are traditionally headed by well-educated adults who have not only the financial means to support the household, and often an extended family, but also the intellectual capacity to pass on valuable life skills to their children. Other responsibilities include developmental activities, such as sports that take place outside the home. In cases where parents and their children live under one roof, it is safe to say that the home is a child’s first tutorial setting with parents, older siblings and extended family as their first teachers. It is in the home, rather than in the classroom, that children develop their most basic values and outlook on life. Social Ills Some households are uncomfortable places for adults, who as children did not have the benefit of growing up in a safe and loving environment, let alone a home where they were taught important life skills, empathy and respect for themselves and others, as well as kindness toward animals. If this hapless cycle is allowed to be passed down from one generation to the next it does not bode well for the future of our civilization. Poverty, illiteracy and unemployability deeply impacts the family because it not only affects the psychological functioning of its members, it is also linked to poor physical and mental health, crime, drugs and gang violence. Poverty Many children reared in squatter settlements not only endure starvation and pitiable living conditions, they are also vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Many social scientists agree that children who are poverty-stricken seldom excel at school and usually drop-out at a young age. Promiscuous sexual behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse are often the result. Adults are usually poor because they can’t find work as they lack in-demand job skills. In retrospect, as parents, they are untrained to help their children acquire useful skills. And so sets a snow ball effect in motion. Many are illiterate and unskilled, yet these profound disadvantages are carried over to their children and their children’s children. The Family unit Our future leaders in growing up find themselves rudderless in a vast turbulent ocean of contradiction. Consequently, it isn’t hard to predict the dire consequences...