A New Journey

I write this with my newborn son sleeping just a few feet away, grunting in that way newborns do to charm their way into our hearts. I look at him and think of all the possibilities ahead of him. What will he do with his life? What ideals will he cherish? What songs will he sing? What will his journey look like?

The world today is in churn. While statistically speaking, it’s safer today than it has been in most of human history, it seems a precarious peace. Record breaking heat waves and supercharged natural disasters signal the onset of human induced climate change. War launched at the whims of a dictator rages in Ukraine. An attempted insurrection nearly succeeded in the halls of American government. Where will his place be in all of this?

I wish I could tell by looking at his peaceful form, hands twitching as his body learns how to control those crucial tools. Will those hands turn towards good or ill? Will he be the man others look to for aid and comfort, or the one they fear when they see his shadow darken their path? Will he grin as he wipes the sweat from his brow, knowing the value of effort put towards a good cause?

I have little say in what his journey looks like. Yes, what my wife and I do during his childhood will have a tremendous impact on his development, but we cannot–and should not–suborn his agency, his ability to choose for himself. We can merely point in a direction we think leads to happiness and wellbeing and hope it is such. It is up to him to make those choices, to choose the paths his journey will take. As the great Dr Seuss once wrote, “Oh the places you’ll go!”

He’s starting to fuss, our little one. Let’s see what it is he’s thinking.