>    I was amused to read yesterday that Karl Rove, political adviser to the President, was volunteering to leave the position and was doing so “to spend more time with his family.”
    My amusement was around how condescending and transparent the rationale was. Did he really think that after at least 8 years of being a “political right hand” and strategist to the President of the United States we’d believe he’s concerned about time with his family…or likely more concerned about getting out now that his candidate/President is about as unpopular and ineffective as it gets?
    But let’s take a moment and explore the reason given, because generally speaking, it’s a really important point to ponder.
    How many of you give not only serious consideration to the time necessary to cultivate a healthy family, but also actually devote that amount of time to the goal? If you’re short on either point, you’re not alone.
    We tend to prioritize all the wrong things in our 21st century lives. We focus on work (to keep up financially), we focus on stressing out the children to achieve academically and in extracurricular activities (to give them a leg-up towards college admission), we focus on “looking good” whether or not we are “feeling good” (to be part of the youth culture we revere) and we pretty much banish the elderly to someone else’s care unless they’re financially able to provide for themselves (so that we can have more time to focus on the first three things I just listed).
    So, unlike Karl Rove, we need to spend more time with our families as our first priority, not as an after thought.
    It’s no wonder so many of us feel stressed and have difficulty with our personal relationships…with spouses and children. Just as you cannot successfully cultivate a delicate flower without proper proportions of light and water, so too you cannot hope to cultivate delicate relationships without giving them the necessary time and energy they need to grow to become healthy and longlasting.
    The Universe is always sending us messages to support us in our highest good. I think Karl Rove just provided a really important one. It doesn’t matter whether the reason he gave is true for him or not.     
    What matters is what you do with it.

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