i'm walking, yes indeed....

so a few years back i started doing some searching...of the soul variety. i was searching for my true values, and not the ones i'd been handed and shuffled as best i could.

it was cool, because i had a lot of friends with similar values...or similar feelings toward certain values, if that makes sense. anyway, i learned the phrase (from my good friend denise) that i had certain ideals i just "hadn't put feet to." what a great phrase! they were important to me, held highly in my head and heart, i just hadn't figured out how to incorporate them into my life yet.

so i'm learning that life is finding your feet concerning and putting feet to new ideals, or better living your ideals all the time. it's continually enhancing each step, until we no longer walk, right?

so here's something i wonder about sometimes. does making a decision inherently mean we are not ok with the other alternatives (we could've decided on)... can we make a decision but still embrace everyone...even those who make a different decision?

i was reading an indigo girls site yesterday. it has different comments they've made on different songs they've written and released. one song, "the night they killed faye tucker," is about amy's anti-death penalty stance. she says, "when it comes down your life's not your own, and that's why killing don't pay." it's a double entendre. she feels killing is wrong...whether faye tucker's or the texas government who put her to death. (which happened to be led by george w. at the time) but amy says you have to be able to embrace the humanity even when you deplore what people stand for. (ended with a prep, arg) it was profound to read.

and this brings me back to my question. here's an example to work it out...homeschooling. sometimes homeschoolers can be a pretty snobby bunch, convinced what they're doing is right and best for EVERYONE and not just their families. but sometimes non-homeschoolers can be pretty dismissive and imply that people homeschool because of their own inabilities to allow their children to be independent, or that parents aren't as qualified as teachers, or whatever. and then there are homeschoolers who look down on other homeschoolers for utilizing public education opportunities within their homeschooling, bla bla bla.

now, i had another good friend teach me that there is no choice that is the magic bullet to promise everything will come out good and right for our family. and i believe that. good nutrition isn't a magic bullet. gentle discipline isn't a magic bullet. alternative vaccination schedules isn't. physical activity and a love of outdoors isn't a magic bullet. and homeschooling isn't either.

so why can't we just support each other in whatever decision we each make for our families? wouldn't it be so much more productive?... i think negative energy takes a lot from both parties, and positive gives a lot. plus, i think it's better for our brains and the rest of our physical bodies. but i guess if i choose to look positively at something, i have to respect some one's choice to look negatively. (haha) and that's fine. i just feel sad when someone has a negative experience from someone in a particular "group" of people, and ascribes that negativity to the whole group. but i guess it wouldn't be too ridiculous to challenge someone on that...because that's pretty ridiculous.

i guess all of this to say that i respect some one's decision to feel that homeschooling is the ONLY right decision. i don't even feel the need to correct them. (hahahahaha....blogging reveals so much of my own shoddy thinking to me....CORRECT them?!! because, don't you see? they are wrong....shaking my head) ok, i don't even feel the need to offer a counter-balancing opinion. because i've been there. and i don't want that person to lose their dignity there anymore than i could afford to lose mine when i was there... but....and there's the great but....

(hell, i'm going to leave it here) :)
peace