Perceptions And Truths
An e-mail appeared in her inbox recently suggesting that she check out what her former high school classmates were up to. Although she wondered how her e-mail address had been attained, her curiosity got the better of her and she clicked on the provided link. About 20 names appeared on a list of students who had graduated from the same school, in the same year as she had - she, however, recognized only one. She then read a list of attributes and was asked to click on which of the attributes she remembered about this person: awesome, ambitious, attractive, athletic, bright, sincere, confident, fashionable, fun, friendly, generous, helpful, loyal, polite, unique, witty and the list went on. She actually didn't remember anything about this particular classmate and so didn't click on any.
She began to wonder what people would have selected about her - how had she been perceived in 1964 and would the perceptions have been realistic or truthful? What would they remember about her or was she even memorable at all? And how would who she was today reflect the young girl she was then? What had she innately carried with her and what had she learned, through her life lessons, to leave behind? Along her journey through life she had learned that she could be a role model to inspire others around her, but if she talked and acted and dressed in perceived inappropriate ways, she would also be a role model for bad behavior. Either way, whether her behavior was interpreted correctly or incorrectly, others would always notice and, of course, some would always be ready to criticize, and judge or condemn, even if they were not aware of all the truths.
Her thoughts brought her back to the present and she began to ask questions of herself. In her life now how could she be a better friend, a better spouse, a better parent? Could she give back more to her community? What was the one thing that she could work on that would really make a positive difference in her life? As a senior she wondered how she could honor her values better at this last stage of her life? Was she out of alignment with herself? Could she serve better? Could she contribute more? Could she still make a difference? How far should she have stretched herself for the sake of those who had betrayed her?
She listened carefully to the answers that formed in her mind and came to the realization that as she was truly committed to learning and growing she had to be constantly mindful of what her values were, strictly adhere to them and then act accordingly - it was as simple as that. If she turned up the volume of the whisperings in her heart and allowed the wisdom of her soul to guide her heart, she could hopefully, one day, with truth as her guide, turn the watchers and negative judges into sojourners along the paths she chose to walk.
No comments:
Post a Comment