POSITIVE CONNECTIONS
Attending the funeral of an old family friend this weekend plus seeing a little girl at the beginning of her journey, I'm again reminded of how great life can be, how short it is and how important it is being a positive influence in other people's lives if we are to get the best out of our time here.
Childhood Influences
John was an abused child. He was treated with cruelty by his parents and lacked the love shown from his family to equip him with a capacity for loving others. His childhood set him up on a path in life. He influenced others in many ways - both good and bad. Failed marriages, relationships and business ventures. But fortunately, he had good people in his life that gave him love and it was through them, that he learned to love. So, from a poor beginning, he eventually had much love in his life - particularly nearing the end. There was a lot of appreciation for John's life and the positive influences he had on others. This fact was evident at John's funeral as we listened to the speeches given to us by close family and friends.
We are all influenced through our life experiences. But we still have a choice in how we absorb these moments and use the influences to determine our future. Cruelty, hardship and poor parenting can create a cycle of behaviours that pass on down through the generations or we can make a decision to improve our lives through breaking the patterns created through poor influences.
Meeting my girlfriend's sister Vicky and 6 year old daughter Charlotte the day after the funeral, one can clearly see how a family can effect the life of a little girl at an impressionable time in her life. If there is struggle and poor peers around her, there will be higher chances of creating a troubled little girl. But if there are positive people around her and uplifting, happy, carefree moments experienced, then the life of this little girl can be a reflection of the good childhood she's had and not a dysfunctional one. She needn't battle her way through adolescence, make many mistakes in her early adult years only then to discover later in life, what has been holding her back all this time - as perhaps John did towards the later years of his life. She can be helped now and guided on to a happier path. And so it is up to me, as a positive connection - an influence in Charlotte's life, to ensure my moments with her and my connections to the family, are the ones to bring harmony and happiness. We are all connected in many intricate ways. It's up to us to be fully conscious of how the actions and non-actions will influence those around us.
We need to recognise when important moments of trust, respect, solidarity, reliability and courage - enriching actions and defining impressions - are bestowed upon those around us that can, in turn, go on themselves to share their positive influences to create a network of positive connections in the world.
Meeting my girlfriend's sister Vicky and 6 year old daughter Charlotte the day after the funeral, one can clearly see how a family can effect the life of a little girl at an impressionable time in her life. If there is struggle and poor peers around her, there will be higher chances of creating a troubled little girl. But if there are positive people around her and uplifting, happy, carefree moments experienced, then the life of this little girl can be a reflection of the good childhood she's had and not a dysfunctional one. She needn't battle her way through adolescence, make many mistakes in her early adult years only then to discover later in life, what has been holding her back all this time - as perhaps John did towards the later years of his life. She can be helped now and guided on to a happier path. And so it is up to me, as a positive connection - an influence in Charlotte's life, to ensure my moments with her and my connections to the family, are the ones to bring harmony and happiness. We are all connected in many intricate ways. It's up to us to be fully conscious of how the actions and non-actions will influence those around us.
We need to recognise when important moments of trust, respect, solidarity, reliability and courage - enriching actions and defining impressions - are bestowed upon those around us that can, in turn, go on themselves to share their positive influences to create a network of positive connections in the world.
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