A father and daughter died yesterday in a helicopter crash. In those final milliseconds I can imagine there was a mixture of helplessness and rage going through the father’s mind. He, like most of us parents, want to protect our children from harm. And when we can’t, when they are bullied (or worse) at school and we can’t, it rips us apart.

We can not protect our daughters and sons, but we can show them love, love to live wisely, and how to be fully alive. This is gift we can give ourselves and our children. 10, 20, 40 years ago was the best time to start, the next best time to start is today.

The choice is up to us.

Photo by Aliyah Jamous