THE WAY I SEE IT

You are who you are and I am who I am because that's the way The Powers That Be made us. I have total faith in that. Granted, every thing we are exposed to from environment to people, places and things helps bring out who we actually are. It's a matter of what we do with it. Our whole lives are a challenge, and I sincerely believe that we are here to love, learn and create. That seems pretty simple, but it's as complex as all get-out.

I don't believe that our parents have much influence, if any, on exactly who we actually are. We've inherited their genes for our physical attributes, and we take on some of our parents' mannerisms and quirks, and we certainly ascribe to some of their beliefs and teachings. This is because we are exposed to them day and night for the first 18 to 20 years of our lives.

Our parents are here to raise us into adults, teach us, shape us and to put us on the right track to adulthood according to their own learned knowledge, beliefs and values. That's all they have for this grueling task. For all of that, even with their influence, we will form our own beliefs as we grow into our own selves anyway. We know of right from wrong and good from bad by the time we are five years old. After that, we just have to learn how to use that knowledge. We still need to be guided and coached.

Why does it always shock and distress parents when their children don't always share their own values? We learn behavior patterns, mannerisms and habits (good and bad) from them. But, the person we ultimately become is exactly who we already are. I think we actually know exactly who we are the moment we are born, but soon forget as soon as the delivery room lights hit our little faces. At that very moment, we are a new little mind to bend.

Our challenges and choices eventually mold us into that which we are and will be forever more. The challenges are already lined up, and our choices determine when we meet these challenges.

That may sound just trivial, but I believe it's the truth. We are all born with separate and uniquely different souls and spirits, with a whole set of challenges to meet. It's not IF we meet these challenges but when, and when we meet these challenges is solely up to us. Oh, we will meet all of them if we live long enough. We choose to meet them whether we are conscious of the choice or not, now or later. When we meet them depends on when we recognize that we can't move forward to the next challenge until we take care of the one right in front of us.

Isn't that just the way it is? I mean, there are certain steps we have to take before we can run on to the next one. Don't we have to acknowledge that there is a challenge, a problem to solve or an inquisition to face? I'm guessing that the acknowledgment of this challenge is the first step. The next step would be to examine the possibilities. After that, acceptance of the challenge would be in order, and then actually taking new steps to meet the challenge or solve the problem.

It's realizing that the Powers That Be have designed these challenges for us to learn by. Acceptance is a very important step in this. You don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it eventually. I'm told that we are made in God's image. This makes me think of God as one huge kaleidoscope of brilliant color, and I just happen to be one of the tiny, beautiful shards of color, and I am very flattered to be a part of that.

The more challenges we take on, the more we grow, and the more colors we accumulate the more complete we become, and the more we can create, whether it be a sculpture, a building, a work of art in a museum, invent something, or create a wonderful environment for our future generations. Our challenges help us grow enough to meet the criteria for creation, and that is precisely what we are here for; to live, love and create. That's the way I see it. Now, please excuse me. I must be off to work on my own kaleidoscope colors.