Drop a Pin in the Journey of Life

We need each other on the journey.

Clarity Clinic asked me to share my journey through life with their guests. My story is not for me alone.  We are each uniquely designed for a specific purpose in the world. Every one of us has experiences and life lessons that we have learned along the way. Those lessons have value. They are for sharing.

Not everyone is able to get up on stage in front of hundreds of people, but everyone can help those around them avoid the pitfalls of life in one way or another. You might simply share a story or send a note of encouragement. Maybe you are talented and share value through art. Perhaps, you volunteer or work at a service provider job. Visiting with family and friends is so important. We are all connected.

We have teachers and leaders in many capacities. Friends can sometimes be our best defense, but at other times they are our most dangerous diversions. In the multitude of counselors is wisdom. We just have to sort through it. We do that by evaluating decisions based on many factors. The most critical factor is how it played out in the lives of others. For better or worse, at least we have something to judge.

We need direction for the journey.

Sometimes called goals, we all have hopes and dreams to pursue. Even in cases where a person has been abused or taken captive and their lives have been derailed, somewhere deep inside, there are aspirations to be drawn out.

Abuse stunts our ability to hope and dream. The core violation of child sexual abuse is particularly damaging to the ability to make decisions. The ability to base decisions on future outcomes is called executive reasoning and it takes place in the prefrontal cortex of our brains. This is what gets stunted by negative feedback loops within the central part of the brains of abuse victims.

Some people in our lives help us plan and achieve goals. They may provide the resources to get us going or encouragement to keep us on track. Sometimes, people are good for us and sometimes they are bad for us. That is often only known by hindsight.

We need support throughout the journey.

From the moment of fertilization, we are members of the human race. We are individuals that are part of the whole of humanity. Until we are born, there is only one person who can take care of us and protect us. Our time in the solitary care of our biological mother’s womb is short when compared to the average life span of 70 years. Without her protection, we cannot develop.

After birth, any number of people can care for us and many times many people do, especially during the first years. We still need other people through childhood and our teen years with education and protection. We need help in our early adult years to navigate relationships and career choices and all through to when we become elderly and frail.

Some of those people are more visible than others along the journey of life. Some stand out like road signs, others like mega-billboards. Yet, there are those who’s subtle direction changes the trajectory of our lives with hardly a notice.

We need to give thanks.

Gratitude is like a mental hug. Both parties are involved.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It can be the most difficult time of year for some. Let’s be thankful for one another.

Who can you thank today?

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