All is pattern, all life, but we can’t always see the pattern when we are part of it.
-Writer Belva Plain
I have always enjoined reading the biographies of famous people or watching documentaries about their lives. I find it fascinating to see what influences and experiences shaped them into the people they became. I have attempted more than once to identify and understand my own influences and experiences. How did I become the person I am today? You may occasionally ask yourself the same question. Much of the time when we are living our lives they do not appear to make sense. Even when we have a sense of where we want to be and what we want to do, it is never a simple path. Life is full of side roads and back alleys. Sometimes we explore and enjoy these side trips off the main path. Occasionally they turn into the path we walk for the rest of our lives. I had what most people would consider a stable and good upbringing. Life has given me a good education. I have been blessed with good teachers and mentors. I grew up in a tumultuous time of American and world history. I’ve lived in a monastery and I’ve spend more than more than half my life married. Despite my inadequacies as a parent I have two good sons. At different times in my life I wanted to be a priest, monk, rock star, social worker, psychologist, and writer. In some ways I have been all of these things. Looking backward, I can see how many of my life experiences have formed me into who I am. The individual threads of my life have woven themselves together into a tapestry that is who I am. My life often seems very ordinary to me but others think my life has been interesting. Your tapestry may have a different pattern than mine but you have one nevertheless. Take some time today to reflect on your life and see what patterns you can identify.
-Writer Belva Plain
I have always enjoined reading the biographies of famous people or watching documentaries about their lives. I find it fascinating to see what influences and experiences shaped them into the people they became. I have attempted more than once to identify and understand my own influences and experiences. How did I become the person I am today? You may occasionally ask yourself the same question. Much of the time when we are living our lives they do not appear to make sense. Even when we have a sense of where we want to be and what we want to do, it is never a simple path. Life is full of side roads and back alleys. Sometimes we explore and enjoy these side trips off the main path. Occasionally they turn into the path we walk for the rest of our lives. I had what most people would consider a stable and good upbringing. Life has given me a good education. I have been blessed with good teachers and mentors. I grew up in a tumultuous time of American and world history. I’ve lived in a monastery and I’ve spend more than more than half my life married. Despite my inadequacies as a parent I have two good sons. At different times in my life I wanted to be a priest, monk, rock star, social worker, psychologist, and writer. In some ways I have been all of these things. Looking backward, I can see how many of my life experiences have formed me into who I am. The individual threads of my life have woven themselves together into a tapestry that is who I am. My life often seems very ordinary to me but others think my life has been interesting. Your tapestry may have a different pattern than mine but you have one nevertheless. Take some time today to reflect on your life and see what patterns you can identify.
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