Everything I say and do in Hunter's presence has an impact, one way or another, on his future.

No pressure.

I've been thinking about what I want to help him learn for this future (and present, for that matter), trying to distill it into as simple a set of concepts as possible so I can more easily keep them in mind as I'm doing and saying all these future-impactful things. It's a process very similar to what I called "Living my life in bumper stickers" when I was in college. (Example of one of my "bumper stickers": "We need to spend less time worrying about the future and more time creating it.")

It goes without saying that I want him to be happy. But what does that mean?

Instead, I've identified three qualities which I dearly hope to be able to nurture in Hunter's life:


Confidence

At its most basic level, this entails a belief that Hunter David Heslin is a human being of value and worth. So much strife in our world would be avoided if more people believed in themselves to the extent that they didn't think they needed to pull down others in order to make themselves feel better.

Confidence also includes respect for oneself and a willingness to try new experiences and learn new skills. Someone who is confident does not think of the possibility of failure, but rather learns from the results of actions. Therefore, the confident person also willingly accepts both responsibility and accountability for the consequences of his actions.


Curiosity

While confidence makes someone willing to learn, it is curiosity that provides the desire to learn, to grow, and to continually expand one's horizons. It is the combination of confidence and curiosity that can transform Life into a grand adventure.


Compassion

"It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."
-- John Andrew Holmes

It is good to understand other people: how they think, what is important to them, why they do the things they do. It is good to respect others as human beings, regardless of differences.

But beyond mere understanding, beyond even respect, is compassion.

I don't know the words to convey the importance of compassion, other than to say that without it, it is well nigh impossible to create any sort of intimate relationship, be it an honest friendship or the union of soulmates.

On a lesser level, it just makes life easier: you don't get as upset when someone cuts you off in traffic or betrays a trust, because your understanding and acceptance of their humanity -- not "flawed" humanity, but true humanity, warts and all -- puts everything in perspective.


There is so much more I want for Hunter: love, laughter, innocence and joy -- but I have faith that, with confidence, curiosity and compassion, all else will be given fertile ground to thrive and blossom such that Hunter will, more often than not, attain that most abstract of goals: Happiness.