December 18th, 1999

If just for a moment, I wish my son could see himself as I see him. Now 20 and a young man quite firmly independent and committed to making his own way through this world, often time seems lost on him. This myopic perspective, however, is an illusory trap, and though he knows this, he is also, like most, feeling quite cornered to own up to what is expected of him. Sigh!

Parenting is no walk in the park, but it has been the most gratifying and enriching experience life has yet to offer. Their childhood is reaped with cherished memories. But as adults there is a binding connection that comes to the fore with such visceral force when engaged in meaningful conversation. My son has often commented that I’m too trusting of people. I suppose in part because he has seen me financially and emotionally broken as a consequent. Still, I’m no stranger to this, and it is not naivety that is to be faulted for it. Rather, it is in struggling between the inevitable hurt I welcome into my life and living a life of suspicion and untrustngness. Alas, the pain of living without trust, being vulnerable and authentically raw to others, is too great a price to pay. After I spoke, he looked at me quite deliberately and said: I know, mom…I know. Impressed am I that my son can know this and struggle himself with hanging onto his truth…even when it costs him.


So this is for my son. I love you son! ❤ Happy birthday!


Published by Elly Pirocacos

Welcome! My name is Elly Pirocacos and this is a personal blog, home to philosophical reflections on life issues. These will vary from philosophically dense scholarly-type papers, to quibbles, annotations, critiques, self-help guides, and problematics. It was the university, first as a student and later as a Professor of Philosophy, that was once home to my philosophical engagement with life issues. Initially this was an ideal forum for an interactive, passionate exchange of commonly entrenched concerns but as education came to suffer the ills of institutionalization more and more, and standardized policies replaced the creative, and biophilous dialectical flux that characterized the inter and intra-human exchange amongst practitioners of philosophy, this became an ever alienating experience. Yet the yearning for meaningful reflection has not waned and the practical application dating back to the Greeks has finally found new footing in Philosophical Counselling. Putting philosophy back on the streets and employing philosophical methods as a form of counselling constitute the two-tier structure of this blog. Negotiating the "truth" in all facets of life and living will be the driving force that both defines the parameters and implications of all philosophical reflections. Still a passionate educator committed to the ideals of college/university learning and philosophical counselling. In both venues, com-passionate, invested dialogue guides and helps content take form. Credentials: BA, MA, PhD in philosophy; APPA certified. Presently studying to acquire my BA in psychology. It's never too late to change your orientation in life! Membership/Secretary Treasurer Canadian Society for Philosophical Practice (CSPP)

authenticity, Children, Engaged Living, Life, Love, meraki, Motherhood, Philosophy as a Way of Life, relationships, Uncategorized, Womanhood

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