There are two areas of my life that are colliding in a big way; fatherhood and the notion of radical trust.
As you may already know, Danielle and I are expecting to become parents for the first time in July 
. The significance of fatherhood is creeping in at a quickening pace. Many hours are spent reflecting on the sort a Man man I am and what sort of Dad will I be.
Who am I that I can build strong character in this child? How can I learn from this child to know what I need to teach? These questions are asked in a strange blend of excitement, love and fear all of which I am coming to know as fatherhood.
Whenever the big stuff comes up, I turn to “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran. On children he writes:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Now that is radical trust!
For me radical trust was never *only* about marketing. It’s a much deeper routed philosophy which informs the ideas I have about the world and the way we interact and live in it. Social media is the way I make my living, radical trust is the way I aspire to live. Perhaps that will help me on this new adventure.
On the lighter side of radical trust in parenting, Gever Tulley, founder of “The Tinkering School, gives a brilliant TedTalk about the “Five dangerous things that we should let our children do”. These simple acts of radical trust, can help kids be more creative, confident and in control of the word around them.
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One Response to “Fatherhood and The Notion of Radical Trust”
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January 20th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Collin, you’re gonna make a great dad. I’ve been a parent for a long time, and your quote from “The Profit” just helped me to see a recent interaction with one of my grown daughters in a new light. As you’ll discover, sometimes shit happens when you have kids, and you don’t always react out of wisdom. But armed with the thoughtfullness you show in your post, you’re gonna do fine.