top of page
Ideas Worth Cultivating
Leadership. Belonging. Parenting. Community. Life.


The Holy Ganga and the Danger of a Single Story
In February of 2018, I traveled with six amazing women to India. We called ourselves The Sisters of the Traveling Sari. I have so many wonderful memories and lessons learned from that trip, but spending a couple of days in Rishikesh by the Ganges River was, for me, the highlight of the journey. Rishikesh was the last destination before our trip back home. One of my friends and I decided to change our return plans and remain in Rishikesh for a few more days. On the morning tha

Ridvan Idara
Mar 30, 2019


“Noble Have I Created Thee” - A paradigm shift in parenting.
I’d like to begin this post with a couple of questions. Take a moment to ponder the following questions and take stock of your answers and attitudes towards children. When you think of children, what thoughts immediately come to mind? What are or were some of your assumptions about children before you had your own? Do you attribute intent to a child’s behavior? What are your beliefs about the nature of a child or a teenager? Too often, adults associate negative traits to chi

Ridvan Idara
Mar 7, 2019


On Becoming A Conscientious Parent
When my firstborn was a few years old, one afternoon I walked into my bedroom shortly after I had just cleaned it to find him in the process of tearing it down. My initial impulse was to react and solve the problem, probably by stopping him, or maybe even making him pay for this mishap and disrespect, because we are told that as parents we have to immediately correct our children’s “ills,” lest they become horrible human beings. However, something compelled me to ask him what

Ridvan Idara
Feb 15, 2019


Reflections of an Imperfect Mother
I have been blessed with two beautiful souls that I am honored to call my children. They are loving, adventurous, resilient, creative and extremely silly individuals who are a constant source of joy and inspiration. When my son was born, in 1999, I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of being a parent. For me, the question was not whether I could raise a child but rather, how do I raise a spiritual, emotionally intelligent, and physically healthy individual who will contrib

Ridvan Idara
Jan 27, 2019
CATEGORIES
TAGS
ARCHIVE
bottom of page