A Handful of Hope Bookmark

A laminated bookmark with a sweet and sensitive poem that really goes straight to any mom or dad’s heart:

If we hope to create a non-violent world
where respect and kindness replace fear and hatred,
we must begin with how we treat each other at the beginning of life.
For that is where our deepest patterns are set.
From these roots grow fear and alienation, or love and trust.

-Suzanne Arms

Mothers and fathers only want the best for their children, starting at birth. This poem clearly reminds us how important it is to be gentle, nurturing and loving with our children, especially in their early (and most impressionable) years. Treating a baby and a child with loving respect will teach them to respect and love others.

A simple poem about the ever-important golden rule: Do unto others as you would have done unto you. It’s heartbreaking to think that a child could grow up with lifelong feelings of fear, alienation and mistrust because of an occurrence that happened while in the early years of their life. Was it a fight they overheard, or a slap or a yell? Were they alone in the dark, crying and scared? It’s hard to know what will make our little ones carry in their hearts a lifetime of sadness because of something unpleasant that happened in their childhood.

This poem is a bold reminder of how important it is to treat your children with the utmost in care. They are ever so impressionable and sometimes their not-yet-fully-developed minds can’t understand everything that’s happening around them.

If you begin to yell, take a moment to breath and recite this poem in your head.

This is a wonderful gift for any pregnant or new mother. A beautiful, laminated bookmark that will surely be read again and again and shared with others. It truly is one of the most meaningful poems about parenting.