"Your past is part of your destiny. One cannot exist without the other, no matter how good or bad the past was, it plays an active part in your final destiny"(Moore, 2007).
Instead of focusing on just one chapter in The Art of Possibility, I have decided to reflect on the entire book. The last three chapters are amazing, especially if put into light of the entire book. Everything from giving every person we meet an 'A' to the teacher that willing shaved her head to identify with the child recently having undergone chemotherapy, all comes down to connecting. Every person has a past, a present, and for an undetermined amount of time, a future. My childhood can be summed up in no less than one word, horrible. But it was that past that influenced my young adulthood and how I related to others. In my late teens, I had an uncontrollable temper. It is not something I am proud of, but it was all I knew in the modeling by my parents. As I matured and started to think about marriage, I didn't want my temper to be something my husband or children would one day reflect upon... so I started the slow and tedious process of eliminating it from my being. Many of the concepts presented in this book is exactly the ones I employed, but my frame of reference came from the love I felt from my Heavenly Father and His word.
My kids are now 28, 29 and 30... and if asked about my temper, they would laugh. The few times I did get angry to the point they would remember, they all agree they deserved it. Amongst us, there are only 2 episodes that we can remember. Changes we make to our character are never easy, but they can be done. My students at school find my class very relaxing, but disciplined. It is a safe haven for them. Would I go as far as shaving my head for a student that was be ridiculed? Probably. Do I have a Vision and a Mission? Yes, and they are easily distinguished. I have a framework of possibilities for my students, my family and myself. Do I have a Mission? Yes, but it is for me alone, as I cannot dictate the mission of any other person. We are all connected, we all have a past, a present and an unknown future. The possibilities are endless, we are the ones to create the limits. Dream a dream with me...
Moore, B. (2007). Esther; It's tough being a woman. Life's Way; Nashville, TN.
It's hard for me to imagine you as an angry person. You always seem like someone who would laugh off a difficulty rather than get bent out of shape and angry about it.
ReplyDeleteThat's one amazing journey you made. Stories like that are one of the reasons I think it's so important to allow people to grow and change rather than write them off.