Your Biography

I spotted this on the internet the other day:

            “When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.”

Life is a journey from birth to death. What we do with the time between is the story line. How well we proceed will hold our interest. But the end result is the same. Death. We can’t enhance death or change its meaning. It is what it is. We are not in control of it.

What we are in control of is what we do with our time, talent, energy and resources. We have several decades hopefully to live our life and build our story. How well do we manage the progression of the journey?

In early years we are not in control because we simply don’t know very much. As life experiences happen we learn and accumulate lessons. The lessons help us. They do not control our life, however. There are many more lessons yet to be learned and so we explore. We pursue education. We discover interests heretofore unknown to us. We read and study those interests. We choose jobs and careers according to our interests.

We meet people. Some we dislike. Some we like. Others we love! We really want to spend time with those folks! Especially a significant other. We choose that person as a life partner, hopefully for the remainder of our life!

With our life partner we bring new life into the home and raise children and help them learn the ways of the world and take charge of their own lives. They are a part of our story. Each of these people, parents, partners and kids.

And all the related people in our families as well!  Lots of people. A continuum of relationships that helps define our story,

So we live our life, day after day, weeks and months and years going by. We have options to exercise from time to time; we make those choices. We live with the results. We busy ourselves with the routines and work of the life story-line. To be sure we do not always understand what it all means, but from time to time we do meditate on these things and pull together some focused thoughts on the meanings.

There are others who will write about our lives for us, most often they do so without our bidding or knowing of it. Still the story is ours. To live and to direct. That function belongs to no one else.

My hope is that you and yours will build lives of participation with others, including entire communities much larger than your family. It is in these efforts we learn more of the big picture, the universe or nation that contains us. We understand better our role, potential, and duties.

I observe people who do not deal well with people outside their home. I watch people who are afraid that others will take something away from them, something they feel is theirs to have and to hold. Yet those things come from the external community in the first place. Our security, sense of well-being, key services we rely on performed by others. We share a lot in life with others; we therefore need to share our inputs as well. It is a give and take transaction.

We pay our taxes and get roads, snow removal, libraries, parks, fire and emergency medical protections. We pay insurance premiums and gain help in paying bills when losses are experienced. We work hard at school and learn things that help us live life productively. We pay taxes to school systems so education is at the ready for each of our fellow citizens, and our family.

We give so we can take. We donate to charities and churches so help is available to people in situations that government doesn't address. Sometimes we take without giving, but only because someone else gave ahead of us and our need arose and we took so we can give in the future.

My story-line. My biography. Yours, too. What are we doing with the opportunities?

The Dalai Lama suggests we pay attention to this:

“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.”

Is the planet getting the benefit of your gifts? Are we all perfecting our storylines intentionally and carefully? 

Something to think about!

January 24, 2014