When I got divorced, I thought my life was over. So many things associated with and ancilliary to that event combined to corrupt my reason and sap my strength. It has taken me some time to leave my past in the past and just carry forth the lessons it taught me into my present. A lot longer than I like to admit.
When his laboratory burned down, a sixty-seven-year-old Thomas Edison reacted by saying,
When as a result of these circumstances I put the Reno metropolitan area in my rear view mirror and moved without a job or prospects to Las Vegas, I really did start fresh. Nobody really knew to what I'd been up previously, and I was free to start myself over again in a new location. It's actually the theme of my life growing up military, that whenever I made what felt like an irreconcilable mistake, I knew that in a few years I would move away and get a fresh start. For some reason growing up, I never let my past baggage come along, but now that I am older I have.
In his book Alone but not Lonely, Brandt talks about this phenomenon. As we grow up and get cynical, realizing the start realities of the real world, some things that we ought not carry with us become attached. Fortunately for me, last summer I met a friend who has helped me remember some things which should not have been forgotten and leave in the past some things I ought not to have brought with me.
A few weeks ago, several men whom I respect sat me down and told me that in spite of my past I had weathered the storms well. Maybe I'm not as happy as I ought to be on the outside, but I really do have a wonderful life. In fact, only one thing in my life is not as I wish it were. How many people do you know who can honestly say that? It really is a wonderful life.
I thank God for the chance to start fresh. Yes, it was painful, but I was given a second chance. This morning I met a man who just recovered from open heart surgery following a heart attack. Due to a congenital defect, he's suffered all his life and not known, but the right people were there at the right time to give him his second chance, and it resonates in his actions. Chris inspires me. Now, to put it into action...
When his laboratory burned down, a sixty-seven-year-old Thomas Edison reacted by saying,
"Thank goodness all our mistakes were burned up. Now we can start again fresh".
When as a result of these circumstances I put the Reno metropolitan area in my rear view mirror and moved without a job or prospects to Las Vegas, I really did start fresh. Nobody really knew to what I'd been up previously, and I was free to start myself over again in a new location. It's actually the theme of my life growing up military, that whenever I made what felt like an irreconcilable mistake, I knew that in a few years I would move away and get a fresh start. For some reason growing up, I never let my past baggage come along, but now that I am older I have.
In his book Alone but not Lonely, Brandt talks about this phenomenon. As we grow up and get cynical, realizing the start realities of the real world, some things that we ought not carry with us become attached. Fortunately for me, last summer I met a friend who has helped me remember some things which should not have been forgotten and leave in the past some things I ought not to have brought with me.
A few weeks ago, several men whom I respect sat me down and told me that in spite of my past I had weathered the storms well. Maybe I'm not as happy as I ought to be on the outside, but I really do have a wonderful life. In fact, only one thing in my life is not as I wish it were. How many people do you know who can honestly say that? It really is a wonderful life.
I thank God for the chance to start fresh. Yes, it was painful, but I was given a second chance. This morning I met a man who just recovered from open heart surgery following a heart attack. Due to a congenital defect, he's suffered all his life and not known, but the right people were there at the right time to give him his second chance, and it resonates in his actions. Chris inspires me. Now, to put it into action...
2 comments:
That is a rare opportunity to take such a deep look into ourselves and where we are. We are indeed blessed. Thank you for the change for introspection into my own life.
Good post Doug. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you.
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