Is it true, beautiful, and good? As parents and entrepreneurs, this is our evolving criteria for how we approach our life and our business. As our twins get older, we ask ourselves this question often — now especially in one area: toys.
We’ve all heard the marketing claims: this toy will boost your little baby’s intellect and that toy will spark their athletic prowess. Amidst all this noise, we sometimes forget to trust our own intuition — the kind of intuition that knows what is true, beautiful, and good.
Let’s start with “true.” For us, “true” means natural. We love natural fibers (wool of course!), and so it’s no surprise that we’re drawn to toys made from natural materials. Our kids love their birchwood rocker boards, beeswax crayons, and the like.
There’s a certain warmth to toys that can stand the test of time and can’t be placed in a trend or fad. We love simple items that let our little ones project themselves onto the toy, not the other way around, items that will hold their value longer than the lifetime of a battery.
Next, we ask, “is it beautiful?” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We know beauty when we see it. For us, it’s an appreciation of the craftsmanship of a well-designed bicycle or the beautiful simplicity of a wooden car. It’s those items that can be keepsakes, and capture the adventurous spirit of childhood in any decade.
And finally, “is it good?” Good, in the sense of: will this inspire our kids’ imagination? Will the toy allow our kids to create new uses, new games, and new worlds? A rocker board, for example, may be a surf board, a boat, a slide, or whatever else our kids can dream up. In a similar way, paper and crayon present endless possibilities.
And, good, in the sense of: who made this toy? Are we supporting a company that has a gracious soul and a kind heart?
As parents, we constantly tweak our definitions of true, beautiful, and good. Our criteria may change over time, but we’re striving to be true to ourselves and to our kids.
In a way, we hope that you feel the same about Chasing Windmills. Being thought of as true, beautiful, and good would be the ultimate compliment from any mama or papa.