Unconditional Love

The values passed down from one generation to the next, the importance of the love shared between the parents and their, children, translated….

Love, Although, Limited by the Space & Time, But Due to This Form of Limitations, it’d Made Us Cherish Everything We Come to Share, More……….

After supper, I was doing the dishes, busying in the kitchens, my son did his part, helped putting the dishes and bowls on to the places.  “Mom, do you believe in unconditional love in this world?”, he’d looked, doubtful as he’d, posed this, question, to me.

“What do you think?”, toward this interesting question, I’d wanted to know his, perspectives.  “Of course there is, the love from parents toward their young, that’s, unconditional, I suppose!”, his tone was firm, his tiny face shone of that, confidence.  “If I’m to tell you, that there’s a limit to parents’ love for their young, will you feel, disappointed?”, I’d smiled light at him, knew, that this response from me, will, fill him with the, confusions.

After we got into the discussions, I’d come to realize, that what made him question was the book he was reading recently, “The Beatryce Prophecy”, with a concept of: “the place called home, should allow people to be who they are, and be loved for who thy, are.”  Certainly, I’d told him, that the parents’ love for their young, is revolved around that the love we have for our children, to help them grow up safe, healthy, and happy, and, set up their own self-worth, establish their own self-values, and build up their self-confidence in this sort of a good environment they’re, raised up, in.

illustration from UDN.com

And yet, I’d noted, that to help him understand, that the so-called “unconditional love” also, has its, limitations; all of these limitations may come from the time, the space, or the trials of living.  Especially, the children grow up, the parents grow old.  As the parents go from strong, into their, elderly years, what they can then give to their young, the companionships they’d offered, naturally gets, reduced.  But, as the children mature, they will, return the love they were shown by their own parents, back too.

This love, other than the unconditional giving, there’s the, “responsibilities” and “gratitude” that’s, attached.  I recalled back when I was at my son’s age, in the assignment books of my Chinese sentence structure, I’d wrote that the parents liked their young, that was why they took care of them, and my pops corrected me, that that was “love” and not “like”.  At the moment of time, being in the elementary years, I’d pressed on, “isn’t deep like equal to, love?”, he’d smiled on me gently, “child, like will NEVER equal love, it’s totally, different.”

And now, like my dad answered me when I was in the fifth grade, I’d, told my fifth grade son, “like and love are two different emotions, liking is for the time being, or a little bit stronger than the mutual, attractions.  But included in the love were the elements of responsibilities, gratitude, and, cherishment.  And, the willingness to work in the same direction as the other individual, and the hopes to provide the other person the happiness s/he desires.  Although the parents will offer the young love, but this love, will have its, limitations.  And yet, due to the limitations of the spaces and time, that’s why it’s, so, precious, and we need to hold on to it.”

My son was lost in thought, then smiled and told, “Thank you for loving me.  In your love, I can be like in the book, learn to like myself, and stay true to me.”

Love, although, it becomes, restricted by the same and the time, but due to these limitations, it’d made us more willing to, cherish everything.  In the limited amount of life we get, do take advantage of the now, and cherish what you have in your, arms.

So, this is the conversation the mother shared with his elementary school age son, which is quite, adult in content, and this still  just showed, how important it is, for us to hold these daily conversations with our (still don’t got any!) young, because, that’s how we will pass these values that we hold dear to us, that we want our children to carry on forward in their lives, as these values had been, passed down to us by our own, parents too.