Today there's a beautiful snowfall in our area, but snow never looks quite as good at the end of winter as it does in winter's early days. Those first few snowfalls are magnificent, but later snowfalls remind you that you're tiring of the cold weather. Yet, as always, winter provides a good time for reflection, and as I reflect today, I'm thinking about the lessons we learn about life from others. There are so many ways to live a good life and so many ways to tackle the challenges life presents.
As I contemplated life's many choices and paths today, I thought about the many varying paths my friends and relatives are taking. What we did in our early days is clearly impacting our lives today, and no matter what we did in the early days, every one of us have had some turns in the road that we didn't expect--turns both positive and challenging.
Some friends lived very carefree lives in the early days. They built a strong passion-based foundation with many friends. Yet, in some ways, their carefree nature has made it more difficult to establish security later in life. Others lived very practical lives with an eye on the future, yet they missed out on some of the carefree, enjoyable relationships and endeavor that occurs mostly in your youth. No one's life has been perfect--everyone has had some struggles along the way, and how people deal with those struggles teaches us too. For the most part, those I know well are resilient and have dealt with life's struggles with strength and positivity. I have few to no close minded friends who can't see beyond the challenges life presents. Instead, I'm amazed at my friends' and family members' fortitude in the face of challenge--they are truly incredible in that regard.
I always say that our children take us down roads we never thought we would travel, and that has been true for most of my friends and family members. If they had to predict their children's paths, I don't think they would have predicted the many various paths their children are taking. As I often say, if we're open to our children's paths, our lives become more interesting and enjoyable. Our children take us to new places if we let them.
Then there's the strife beyond our control--the events that happen due to the environment, illness, relationship struggles, and more. While we wish we could control those outside factors, we often can't. For example, my brother died from a cancer caused by negligent work practices. There were laws against those practices, but negligence on the part of a company didn't obey the laws and my brother got the deadly mesothelioma caused by asbestos. We didn't see that coming. Yet, my parents, siblings, and brothers' children dealt with his illness and death with strength and love--good modeling to follow.
People live life in so many differing ways, yet most hold on to similar values with a quest for loving relationships, welcoming homes, happy pastimes, and positive endeavor. Most people I know are focused on the win-win's in life which means the events that are positive for self and others at the same time. I know few to no people who are focused on their own happiness over the welfare of others, though it seems that some leaders in our world today are selfish and self-serving working to dehumanize and harm others for their own gain and fame. I hope we can continue to work against the self-serving, hateful, destructive forces of leaders like that.
Life offers many twists and turns, and we can learn about how to navigate these paths, in part, by looking at the way each other lives. We teach each other through our own actions, decisions, questions, and pursuits. We learn from one another. Onward.