Today I had coffee with a friend and her daughter. I got on my soap box about having a passion -- having one thing that you care so much about that you can’t help but do it. A world-changing thing. An important thing.
I was telling my friend’s 14 year old daughter that one of my goals was to help her find her “thing.” I was on a roll and I was very intense. I hope I didn’t scare the heck out of her, but I hope I made an impression.
What I was telling her was that she didn’t realize exactly how fortunate she was and that she needed to make sure that she realized what a great responsibility she had. I explained to her that she had something that none of my children had. She has parents who loved her unconditionally from conception to today. Two of them. And she is an only child, so she has had them all to herself. She is very bright, very talented, and attractive. I told her, almost with tears in my eyes, that she needed to make sure that she wasn’t distracted by stupid stuff, because there was a world out there that needed changing, and she had every advantage and needed to be the one to change it.
I compare her life with the lives of our kids I am saddened by the contrast and I am motivated to make sure that she realizes the blessings she has. Adopting our kids has really opened my eyes to how many things I did not have to overcome in growing up. I was cherished from conception on. I was completely bonded to my parents and had no attachment issues. Not one minute of my life have I been neglected or abused or abandoned by my mom or dad. I have had every chance.
And I take that responsibility seriously and that’s why I have always known that it is my job to make a difference in the world. From the time I graduated from college until this very day, I have always had a “thing”, a passion. I articulated them in this blog post a while back.
And I still am convinced that we all need a thing. We need something to be passionate about. What’s your thing?
I was telling my friend’s 14 year old daughter that one of my goals was to help her find her “thing.” I was on a roll and I was very intense. I hope I didn’t scare the heck out of her, but I hope I made an impression.
What I was telling her was that she didn’t realize exactly how fortunate she was and that she needed to make sure that she realized what a great responsibility she had. I explained to her that she had something that none of my children had. She has parents who loved her unconditionally from conception to today. Two of them. And she is an only child, so she has had them all to herself. She is very bright, very talented, and attractive. I told her, almost with tears in my eyes, that she needed to make sure that she wasn’t distracted by stupid stuff, because there was a world out there that needed changing, and she had every advantage and needed to be the one to change it.
I compare her life with the lives of our kids I am saddened by the contrast and I am motivated to make sure that she realizes the blessings she has. Adopting our kids has really opened my eyes to how many things I did not have to overcome in growing up. I was cherished from conception on. I was completely bonded to my parents and had no attachment issues. Not one minute of my life have I been neglected or abused or abandoned by my mom or dad. I have had every chance.
And I take that responsibility seriously and that’s why I have always known that it is my job to make a difference in the world. From the time I graduated from college until this very day, I have always had a “thing”, a passion. I articulated them in this blog post a while back.
And I still am convinced that we all need a thing. We need something to be passionate about. What’s your thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment