A Place of Love: Guest Post by Author A.L. Whyte

A.L. Whyte lives in Northern California. He is a performer who set aside his acting career around 2010 to make more time for his family. Prior to that he had performed for Nickelodeon, Universal Studios, Image Films, Toyota, Apple, and ILM, as well as semi-professional companies around Orlando, Florida, and the Bay Area. He has written and published poetry as well as  rewrites for Universal Studios stage productions. His derivative of Harry Nilsson’s “Land of Point” is registered in the Library of Congress. After six and a half years, in his spare time, he finished his science fiction novel, The Children of the Stars, Book One, SAIQA. He is currently finishing the second book in the series.    

Here is more information about The Children of the Stars.  

A Place of Love

 I had this dream about a chick. You know –  the tiny, yellow furry, kind. We were on the outside of a building on the patio. She was running about my feet and then scene change – as it happens in dreams – she was on the other side of the patio pecking around the bottom of the building. Suddenly, another bird with a long, sharp beak appeared. The bird started chasing the chick. She ran in fear; running in circles at the far end of the patio. I kept calling her to me. Finally she bolted my way. At that moment the bird struck the side of the chick with such a force she slammed into the building wall. She screamed in pain as she crawled to me. Somehow I managed to get between the deadly bird and the tiny chick. The baby chick stopped at my feet and cried and cried and cried. The deadly bird was behind me trying to get at her from between my legs. I picked up the mortally wounded youngling and held her in both of my hands. As I held her, she stopped crying and looked into my eyes, my very soul. I looked into hers and she settled into my hands and seemed to be filled with a sense of trust and love. I could feel it. Then she closed her eyes and died. At that moment I woke up.

            Had I been alive during the ancient Roman Empire, I would have been running scared at all the potential portents of such a visual dream. Instead I look to the past. I know as a parent I’ve made mistakes, as all parents do. But I remember that with every parental decision –  discipline, patience, education, everything –  I tried to always let my two girls know that they were loved. Both my girls are now strong, confident, and loving. I feel blessed for that alone. My younger girl is now over six months a new mom. This, of course, makes me a grandfather, a title I never thought would apply to me. When Tera had her baby shower, she set a jar aside for her guests to offer any parental suggestions. I wrote, “Always come from a place of love.” I know she initially scoffed at my suggestion, but now when I see her, I can see she has taken it to heart.

            There’s a lot of good and sometimes not good information and opinions offered to new parents through the internet as well as through hearsay. Yet there is one thing that to me seems universal: If you want good, strong, and confident children – children who will someday be the adults –  always try to come from a place of love.