Rocks and Pebbles
Celebrating Sibling Love
Namita Ambani
2/17/20252 min read
This morning, at breakfast, I gave each of my children a blank sheet of paper.
On each sheet, I drew one large rock and a few smaller stones. I asked them to write what mattered most inside the large rock. Then I asked them to fill the smaller stones with everything else they enjoyed.
Their answers fascinated me. My son's largest rock held:
Family. His smaller stones were filled with friends, sports and music.
My daughter's largest rock held: Happiness. Her smaller stones held art, family, music and swimming. That tiny moment said more than I could have explained.
It gently tells the reader, "Pay attention—something meaningful just happened."
Even though they are growing up in the same home...their worlds looked completely different.
Then I asked them to exchange their papers. Not to compare. To understand.
To see life through someone else's eyes. Reyansh added 'Sister' to his big rock. Riana added more 'Activities that give her Happiness' to her small rocks.
Watching them was a reminder of something adults often forget. Even people raised in the same home...by the same parents...can value completely different things.
Neither is wrong.
They're simply different. Understanding begins with curiosity. When we stop assuming that everyone values what we value...we start listening differently.
And relationships become easier. The deepest relationships begin where comparison ends and curiosity begins.
Try this with someone you love. A child. A partner. A friend.
The conversation may tell you more than years of assumptions ever could.
The purpose of this exercise isn't to decide whether someone's rocks are right or wrong. It is simply to understand them. Because the deepest relationships aren't built by finding people who value exactly what we value.
Perhaps understanding doesn't begin when we finally agree with one another. Perhaps it begins when we become genuinely curious about each other's rocks.
Reflection
If you had to draw your own page today...
What would sit inside your largest rock?
Now ask yourself...
Does the way you spend your time reflect that answer?
Or have the smaller stones quietly taken over?
And one final question...
Whose rocks have you been carrying instead of your own?