Lemon Drops No. 7
The H Word; Sharing Bedrooms; Can't Unlearn
This week's drops:
The H word we don't allow in our house (and why)
Questioning the culture of separate bedrooms for children
An Einstein quote that changed how I think about what we consume
🚫 1. The H-Word Ban
There's one word that's banned in our house: hate.
Words carry energy—energy that reverberates not only into the world but also fills us when we speak them. The word "hate" carries such heavy, destructive energy.
When my children start to say it, I ask them: "Why would you want to put that energy into the world? Why would you want to fill yourself with that energy?"
Instead, we say "really don't like." It might seem like semantics, but there's a profound difference in the vibration between those phrases. One feels closing and harsh; the other leaves room for possibility, for change, for growth.
Language shapes our inner landscape more than we realize. The words we choose don't just describe our reality—they create it.
🛏️ 2. The Bedroom Question
Our culture gives children their own bedrooms from such a young age. But I find myself wondering: is this really what's healthiest for developing humans?
Aren't we fundamentally social beings who thrive on interpersonal connections? Throughout most of human history, families shared sleeping spaces. There was comfort in proximity, in the rhythm of others' breathing, in not being alone with the darkness.
Don't get me wrong—when my son asks for his own room, he'll get it. I believe that with puberty comes a natural and necessary need for privacy. But before then I think there's something deeply healthy about sharing space with the people we love most.
Maybe we've prioritized independence over connection a bit too much. Maybe there's wisdom in the closeness that comes from shared space, shared dreams, shared morning light.
🧠 3. The Mind That Grows
Einstein said:
"The mind that grows can never shrink back to its original size."
Once you learn something, you can't unlearn it. Once you see something, you can't unsee it. Once you hear something, you can't unhear it.
This truth makes me incredibly selective about what I allow into my awareness—and even more selective about what enters my children's awareness. Not from a place of fear, but from understanding that everything we consume becomes part of us permanently.
That violent movie, that cynical conversation, that fearful news story—they all leave imprints. They expand our minds in directions we might not have chosen if we truly understood the permanence of mental growth.
It's both the great responsibility and the great opportunity of consciousness: everything matters because nothing can be undone.
What are you choosing to grow your mind with today?
With love and presence,
