This is a letter I wrote to my parents as an attempt to share my gratitude and devotion to them. My heart beats proudly to share it with you.
Dear Mom & Dad,
There is no way to express my gratitude for all that you’ve given me over the past 41 years. There is no way to repay the service of having been loved, cherished, supported, and nurtured all of my life. And so I bow and give thanks every day for what you’ve provided for me. There is nothing of what I am today that was not made possible through your guidance and ferocious generosity to me. You’ve loved me every day of my life, and there is no other thing in this world more valuable than that.
Mom: You have taught me about generosity, perseverance, strength, sacrifice, self-reliance, inclusion, equality, focus, determination, boisterous gregariousness, how to endure despite my own pain and suffering, and JOY! You taught me how to be a warrior, to stand for what I want, what I think is true. You taught me the gift of giving to others.
Dad: You have taught me about kindness, yielding, accepting who I am, ART/creativity and self-expression!, the art of observation; how to SEE!, devotion to what I love, how to see past dualistic thinking, the art of inquiry, how to listen, how to walk quietly in a forest, to have profound respect for nature and the cosmos. You taught me that being weird is really just being myself. You taught me how to eat birds eggs…
Both of you have taught me how to be a teacher, how to cook, how to be a writer, how to really laugh, how to love what I do, to boldly follow my own path, how to have a truly open mind, to burst lovingly out of conventional thinking. You’ve taught me how to thrive socially. You’ve showed me the power of being educated, of learning. You’ve given me a life protected from the majority of human suffering; You’ve given me a blessed life.
I can be intense sometimes, because I don’t like to be controlled or told what to do. I get angry and fight with you. I’m sorry if my anger has been hurtful to you at times. My negative feelings are my own, and have nothing to do with you. I may have blamed you as a younger man for my suffering. I do not blame you anymore. I am not perfect, and I take responsibility for my own negativity and violence. You’ve given me everything.
I want you to know that I honor you every day, and speak of you as the best parents I know about.
I love you!
I’m sorry for any pain or suffering I may have caused you.
Please forgive me for any wrongs i’ve done to you, or ways that i’ve not adequately shown my appreciation for you.
Thank you!
With all of my heart,
Sarkis Adarsh Boston Sky Renjilian Burgy Love
