Education for Educatio
On Caring
Honesty
Caring is the act of helping others grow and actualize themselves. It is a way
of relating to someone that involves development. Caring includes caring for ideas,
music and a community. We consider what we care for as part of ourselves.
However, we do not impose our direction, but we allow the growth of others to
guide what we do and how we respond to situations. For example: As a mother, I
care for my 3-year-old son as he grows from one stage to another. My son is a part
of me, and I become more motherly as I respond to the changes my son shows in
the growth process.
There are several ingredients of caring, but from my personal experience, I
would like to talk about honesty. Honesty creates peace of mind and promotes trust
in a relationship. In honesty, we need to accept ourself the way we are and not try
to change the other person. For example, as a mother, I honestly see my son as a
boy who can reason and do only what three years old can do. While I care for me,
I don’t expect him to behave like an adult because the truth is, he is a baby.
Being honest requires that we assess whether what we are doing to care for
the other person helps or hinders their growth. For example, as a teacher honesty
requires that I use the best teaching methods for my students. I care about their
progress and success, the reason I often self-reflect on my teaching strategies to
evaluate if they are helping them progress or not. Also, when I was writing my first
novel “Love Bubbles”, I cared about my ideas and the message I was sending to
my readers. At one point, I had to be honest regarding the impact of my words on
my target readers because it painted a picture of my personality.
One way to show our honesty is to be genuine in our words and actions
while caring for the other person. There shouldn’t be any gap between how we act
and feel and what we say and do. In caring for my son, my words and actions
towards him are genuine because I see him as a reflection of myself. I am honest in
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whatever I do or say to him because he will grow up with part of the values I show
him.
When I was three years old, I began living with my aunt. She cared for me
like a mother and loved me genuinely. I had never met my father, so I grew up
loving her husband as my biological father. He was an honest man who loved and
cared for me to the point where I never felt the absence of my biological father. My
adopted father was genuine in his caring because he provided me with the best
education. He cared, nurtured and watched me grow to the woman I am today. I
am forever grateful for his caring, love and honesty. This personal experience has
taught me to be honest and care for another with genuineness.
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