Father, Farther, Further

Father, Farther, Further (1,182)

June 19th, 2011

May I present an open message to my children on this Father’s Day? Perhaps you would like to share it with yours. First and foremost, may you always understand—you are wanted. Even though none of your conceptions were planned, utilizing a Mayan fertility calendar, your arrival brought joy, your growth engaged anticipation and your presence was always enlightening. I was, and am, happy to be your father.

To me, being a father is speaking to your offspring and telling them clearly, “You are the salt of the earth.” And because of that (1) you have a responsibility to yourself; (2) you require a relationship with God; and (3) you have a talent to give to earth.

Please don’t forget this. The only way to fail as a father is to have your children think that they are just part of a meaningless herd.

As a good father, there comes a time when you must propel your lineage to go farther. Yes, there is no glory, nor even appreciation, in the first 5,280 feet. It is expected. To set yourself apart, you must go the second mile. To go farther is a delicate process.

As a father, you have a tendency to want to soften the concepts of the world to make things easier. But teaching “easiness” is the best way to cause your children to experience disappointment and poverty. So a good father teaches “farther” by telling those of his household:

1. Pull yourself up without feeling pushed. Make sure the motivation is your idea and not the demand of a taxing employer.

2. Always do more than what you see. Eight is better than seven, and eleven is better than ten. If you develop a pattern of doing at least one more than required, you may never have to suffer the slings and arrows of the overly-critical.

3. Improve. Yes—set a goal in your mind to do everything just a little bit differently and hopefully better, each and every time. It not only keeps things fresh, it also keeps things evolving in the direction that life always goes.

And finally, as a good father who has challenged you to go farther, there comes a time when you must relinquish the household and allow those who live within it to have their own dreams and grant them the space to go further. Yes, tell your children that “greater things will you do than me.” This message is clear:

1. Learn from me. Hopefully, my life has been transparent enough that you can see all the way to my backbone.

2. Do me better. Study my strengths and keep a good sense of humor about my weaknesses. Which lends itself to:

3. In the process, find yourself. Even as a father who has challenged you to go farther and prays that you go further, I do want to see myself inside you, but hope that you will intelligently pick those units of me that have proven to be earth-friendly and God-worthy.

I am your father. Even though you were occasionally offended, my message was clear that I wanted you to go farther. And now that you’re on your own, I rejoice in the notion that you will end up further along. You are the salt of the earth, go the second mile and greater things will you do than me.

So Happy Father’s Day to my children—and to all children everywhere who have the singular mission of saving our planet. Do well and make it better if you can.