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| Helicopter / Zamboni Parenting. What's it all about? |
Good morning Papa!
Good morning son!
Heliboni = Helicopter / Zamboni Parental Style -- one that smoothes the way to an extreme degree while they hover over their children so closely in order to prevent the pain and disorder of the world from getting through. Such parents have almost no concept of the benefits of suffering -- often having no concept of a God who suffers with us, a God to whom we can cry out to and join our suffering to his suffering as an offering for the life of the world.
Papa, the type of entitlement humans that are being generated by this type of parenting is not unlike the thumb-sucking babies in forty year old bodies that the song "Mamas Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Babies" is referring to:
- A human who is clueless about the broken state of our world which will certainly bring us a heap of suffering should we live long enough.
- A human who thinks they are entitled to never suffer.
- A human who often is ignorant of a God who suffers with us.
- A human who knows nothing of the concept of redemptive suffering.
- A human who has no clue how to offer up suffering as a prayer for the life of the world.
- A human who knows nothing of grattitude for blessings in the midst of suffering.
- A human who scoffs at "Ya get what ya get and you don't throw a fit" and "Suck it up buttercup".
- A human who thinks they are entitled to always feel safe in every situation and threatens dire consequences to any and all who make them feel unsafe.
LORD HAVE MERCY ON US ALL.
Heal me, Papa, from my tendency to embrace any of this errant thinking.
Perhaps, son, the embrace of this type of parenting and its resultant entitlement thinking is the result at least in part to people having no hope -- they see history going nowhere except in endless cycles spiraling down into violence, hate and all the resulting pain -- so they think to take matters into their own hands to keep as much of that pain off of them and their loved ones as possible.
Pain avoidance is built into your DNA as a way to survive -- but it can be taken to an extreme that ignores my existence and focuses only on avoiding pain and receiving pleasure. It then idolizes pleasure and ignores me -- the source of all good -- the one who built the ability to receive and enjoy pleasurable experiences into your DNA. It is important to look with compassion on yourself and others who have absorbed this way of thinking unwittingly, people who like you have made idols of pleasurable experiences... forgive them Father for they know not what they do.
Yes, Lord, I see the need for tenderness here, the need to speak the truth in love. I cannot balance that without you Lord -- Channel that compassion of yours through me.
I AM and I will son. We love you very much and are pleased to see you maturing a little bit here so you can recognize this error in yourself -- but remember to be tender with others when you see it in them. Share your experience strength and hope with them without rancor or irritation. Identify with them -- see the pain and misery it has caused you and them together to live in this type of error. Commiserate with them first and then share what you've learned about suffering with me me -- about a God who suffers with you and is not aloof to your suffering. About the lie of meaninglessness, spiraling cycles of decline and how you have hope for it all to one day end in the eschaton -- the beatific vision come true -- Aslan's country at last where death and hate and pain and sorrow are no more.
I can do that with joy Papa -- in, with and through you -- you in, with and through me.
That's the Spirit son. We love you so much.
Love you too.
Amen.
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Leeloo here... Seb mentioned this homily by Bishop Barron that got him thinking about all of this in the first place. I agree with him, it is very good.
