William Martin > Quotes

“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“Do you have agendas for your children that are more important than the children themselves? Lost in the shuffle of uniforms, practices, games, recitals, and performances can be the creative and joyful soul of your child. Watch and listen carefully. Do they have time to daydream? From their dreams will emerge the practices and activities that will make self-discipline as natural as breathing.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“Don’t mistake your desire to talk for their readiness to listen. Far more important”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“Believe this difficult truth. Showing respect in the face of disrespect, love in the face of hate, trust in the face of betrayal, and serenity in the face of turmoil, will teach your children more than all the moral lectures by all the preachers since the dawn of time.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“If your child fails at something merely express your confidence in their ability to handle the consequences. If they behave irresponsibly, merely point out the consequences to themselves and others, and again express your trust that they will learn. As soon as possible give them another opportunity to be appropriately responsible. Do not slip into the downward spiral of blame, shame, and control. It doesn’t work.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“Few things in this world are as important as raising children. In every age, every era, every time and place, children are our treasures, our future, our immortality—the vital link in the chain of humanity.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“Certain attitudes age us more than others. Sadness and grief are natural and heal quite readily. But always wishing things had worked out differently withers our spirit and makes us older than we are.”
― William Martin, The Sage's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life

“WE ARE A RIVER Our life has not been an ascent
up one side of a mountain and down the other.
We did not reach a peak,
only to decline and die.
We have been as drops of water,
born in the ocean and sprinkled on the earth
in a gentle rain.
We became a spring,
and then a stream,
and finally a river flowing deeper and stronger,
nourishing all it touches
as it nears its home once again. Don’t accept the modern myths of aging.
You are not declining.
You are not fading away into uselessness.
You are a sage,
a river at its deepest
and most nourishing.
Sit by a riverbank sometime
and watch attentively as the river
tells you of your life.”
― William Martin, The Sage's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life

“If you overly protect your children they will fear failure and avoid pain. But failure and pain are twin teachers of important lessons. Unless your children fully experience both how will they know they have nothing to fear?”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“A movement that has no enemy? Must there be some “evildoer” we oppose? Can we oppose systems, habits, and structures without personifying them? Why create a personal enemy? The true “enemy” is the conditioned mind-set that oppresses all of us.”
― William Martin, The Activist's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution

“If you complain about politics, and gripe about taxes, and stew about the sorry state of things your children will learn to whine instead of laugh. If you can see in every moment a chance to live, and to accept, and to appreciate, your children will transform the world.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“LESS IS MORE Your children do not need more. Each day adds more facts, more gadgets, more activities, more desires, and more confusion to their lives. Your task is to subtract. Each day seek to remove, to clarify, to simplify.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

“As you care for your children keep their environment uncluttered, free of useless gadgets and distractions. Keep your conversation honest and straight-forward, free of control and manipulation. Keep your decisions fair and generous, free of punishment and shame.”
― William Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents