I recently came across this fascinating article on Judith Durham, a New York Times writer and the mother of three daughters. Her article titled “The Three Levels of Self-Awareness” is one that has really stuck with me. It is a great read with many great points and it touches on several things like the things we can “do” in life.
Durham begins her article by explaining how her three daughters are different. Her older daughters are the normal, “normal”, “typical”, “normal” girls in the family they are now. The middle daughter, Judith, is the one who is the most different. Durham explains that her middle daughter is very opinionated, very loud, very opinionated, and very opinionated about everything.
Judith is a very opinionated person. She doesn’t think much of the rules that her mother tries to make her follow, and she does not like the fact that her mother is a single parent. In fact, Judith is so opinionated that she thinks her mother is crazy. Durham’s point is that even though Judith is opinionated, this is only because of her older sisters.
I agree with Durham. Judith’s opinionated personality is one of the many reasons I want to find a way to help her. She deserves to learn how to give herself permission to make mistakes as opposed to telling herself that her parents would never approve of her actions. As a single parent, I know that it is completely up to me to make sure my daughter can function without being told how to live.
The biggest difference between Judith and many of her friends isn’t that she’s opinionated or that a lot of people think she’s right in the end. It’s that she knows that her opinions are what make her a great person.
This is a major question for me. In the past I’ve been on the defensive about things like the way I live my life, but this time I’m about to go on the offense. I’m not going to give her a set of rules that I feel she can follow. She can write her own rules, but they will be based on her own judgment and not based on rules that others tell her are best. That’s a huge difference.
Thats what Im about to say. Her own judgment is what Im about to say. She is the type of person who is always going to give the wrong answer, and Im not going to give her the wrong answer. This is her problem. Im not going to change her opinion based on what others say. I would rather be left alone with my own thoughts and ways of life. She will always have more options, but she will not always be able to make the best choices.
There are many rules that we should follow and many reasons why we should follow them. But I think it’s important to remember that we don’t always have to do what others think is best. We can instead do what we think is best, and by that I mean we can think for ourselves. We can question our beliefs. We can go to our beliefs and ask for help.
Judith Durham is one of the finest writers we have. Her novel, The Orphan, was a stunning, gripping, and disturbing work of fiction that will stand the test of time. The Orphan will be available on October 6, and if you’re in the UK, you can preorder it on Amazon now.
This is the latest in the series of two novels by the author. There is also a third book in the series, called The Orphan’s Dilemma, due out in September.