I spend my working life on ownership, control, and accountability.
Then I go home to my daughters, and they remind me that some of the most important things in life were never meant to be controlled.
Khalil Gibran put it in one image I’ve never been able to shake: “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”
Not the archer. The bow!
The bow doesn’t choose the target. It doesn’t decide how far the arrow travels or where it lands. Its only job is to hold steady while it bends.
I used to think being a good father meant direction, teaching them what I know, shaping them toward what I understand.
Gibran’s argument is the opposite. They came through me, not from me. Their thoughts are their own. Their tomorrow is a place I will never visit, not even in my dreams.
So my job isn’t to make them like me.
It’s to stay stable while they bend me, and to let the bending be for happiness.
To my girls: I hope you fly far. I’ll hold steady here. ❤️