As The Prophet Says
May. 16th, 2026 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphilo I dreamed that my son- the one who has recently fallen out with me- gave an hour long lecture without notes. He was just a kid and I was proud of him....
No, "proud of him" isn't the right phrase, just a convenient one. One should be more precise. "Pleased for him" would be better.
In the dream, as I remember, I was hesitant to congratulate him, I suppose because I knew that in waking life he's gone beyond caring for my approval.
And in waking life what I am is pleased not proud. He's a successful man (gosh, all my kids are middle-aged now!) but his success is his own and nothing to do with me. It doesn't reflect backwards. The kind of success he's achieved isn't the kind I've wanted for myself or particularly wanted for him. It's his, nothing to do with me. We're on different paths.
As Kahlil Gibran's Propet says, "Your children are not your children"......
No, "proud of him" isn't the right phrase, just a convenient one. One should be more precise. "Pleased for him" would be better.
In the dream, as I remember, I was hesitant to congratulate him, I suppose because I knew that in waking life he's gone beyond caring for my approval.
And in waking life what I am is pleased not proud. He's a successful man (gosh, all my kids are middle-aged now!) but his success is his own and nothing to do with me. It doesn't reflect backwards. The kind of success he's achieved isn't the kind I've wanted for myself or particularly wanted for him. It's his, nothing to do with me. We're on different paths.
As Kahlil Gibran's Propet says, "Your children are not your children"......
