Because I didn't read the assignment as closely as I should have initially, you are blessed to have two blog posts from me in one week.
Three questions are asked at the completion of the hero’s
journey:
1) Have I contributed something meaningful?
2) Am I a good person?
3) Who did I love and who loved me?
As I’m in my latter middle years, I have lived a good
portion of my life. My husband and I
have almost raised all of our children to adulthood. I believe through these children, which was
my primary responsibility for the last quarter century, I have contributed
something meaningful. They are good
people. They are striving to be
better. They, according to our religion,
have contributed something and will continue to contribute to their families,
their community and their church. Due to
the worldly environment I was raised in, for the longest time, I did not think
I had accomplished much of meaning. I
hadn’t discovered the cure for cancer. I
hadn’t written a great novel. I hadn’t
created the most wondrous painting. Now
I know that our children are my greatest accomplishment. And this has eternal meaning.
Am I good person? I
believe I am at the core. And it’s because
of my continued effort to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, that I am that
person at the core. I’m not
perfect. I’m not even the best. I can see though I am making progress, and I
know I can continue to make progress as long as I continue on this path with
Jesus Christ. It is a continual struggle. I fall down.
I’m mean to others. I don’t do my
best. I do realize my shortcomings,
repent, and do better. And the cycle
begins again. I am spiraling upwards
though. Spiraling up towards becoming
more like my Savior.
Who do I love and who loved me? I love my family – my immediate family, my
extended family and now through family history research, I’m learning to love
my ancestors. I love my future family –
those grandbabies. I love my
friends. And I’m learning to love all of
God’s children. I have conflicts with a good
number of them, but I’m trying to see them through His eyes rather than through
my natural eyes. And who loves me? We joke in our family about “couch sessions”. This is the opportunity for our children to
come and just complain to mom about how awful she really is. By the end of most of these sessions, each
child comes to realize that “awful” mom is really just trying to help him or
her become better. And they always end
with “I love you, Mom. Thank you.” One time one of my daughters tried this on
grandma and grandma was appalled at how awful my daughter spoke about me. Again, at the end of the “session” my
daughter reaffirmed that she loved me and was grateful that I was “mean”.
But, my life isn’t over.
I have more to accomplish. That
is one reason why I’m sticking with this entrepreneurship class. I want to discover what else I need and can
do that has meaning. I want to continue
to be a good person. And I want to love
more.
