Images: Who We Were and Are Becoming (Part 2)

[Click here to read Part 1 of 'Images: Who We Were and Are Becoming'.]

As we review photos or memories of when we were younger, we may recognize some traits that have followed us through the years.  We may even notice that we have grown and changed: we look older and, hopefully, a little wiser!

We are people with stories rooted in relatives and friends.  In some ways we may have become predictable.  Occasionally, we may surprise those who know us by saying or acting in ways they weren't expecting.

As I move into a new week carrying decades of Self-and-Other photos and experiences, I have come to realize that I Have a Choice.  But first... let's continue walking down Memory Lane!

Leaving the earlier childhood photos, we come to a freshly-minted high school graduate.  How many of us have had dreams for our lives?  For me, a trait that is brought  forward:  I continue to have dreams and ideas of what I want from life.  But the question that arises is whether those dreams can still be realized.  Questions I often ask myself:

• Do I have the courage to share my dreams and ideas with others?
• Once I have shared these dreams, am I expected to achieve them? 

I have a choice to share and decide what is important.

Self Image: High School Graduate
I have dreams

Fast forward:  since my school days, I have been a second grade teacher, youth minister, and seminarian.  I have worked in higher education, and am now employed by a a software company.  Often, the work has been rewarding; but for me, the relationships and friendships are more important.  The actual work seems to have been the ongoing lessons of Self-in-Relationship.

As I move forward from the cocoon-like world of Family of Origin, I have been challenged to see the unique nature of loved ones, work colleagues, and friends -- chosen as the Family of Choice.  Both are important.  Both origin and choice can be life-giving!

The desire to understand another person is one dream woven throughout my years following high school and college.  As we uncover the individual Self and encounter the unique Other, one question seems to be: 

• Do I say thank you to those I live with and work with?  (I have a choice.)

Self Image: Long-term Employee
We are each unique and valued!

These photos and memories allow me to recognize traits that have been constant.  I have become aware that I also see a person who has changed.  If I acknowledge that I am a Person-in-Transition, then possibly I can extend that same understanding to you.  We are not the same people from a decade ago... or months, days, and even minutes ago!  We are more than the snapshots frozen in time and the stories retold. 

But, will I show compassion for myself when I mistakenly place you in a Memory Album... and you show up differently... changed?  Can I  support and encourage your life journey... where it is now?  Can I acknowledge that you are a gift... who is being slowly revealed?  I do have a choice!

Self Image:  World Traveler
There is so much to see and experience!

Our complex, polarized world needs people who will journey together, allowing a new dialogue to develop.  We are asked to listen humbly to the stories that have brought each of us to a fork in this road.  Can we do this together?  We have a choice!

Let us use the words of Francis of Assisi to form this week's questions:

• Where there is hatred in my stories... how may I sow love this week?
• Where there is injury... how may I pardon?
• Where there is discord and division... how may I seek unity?
• Where there is doubt in leadership... how may I rekindle faith?
• Where there is error in decisions... how may I humbly draw forth truth?
• Where there is despair in the world situation... how may I encourage hope?
• Where there is sadness and darkness... how may I provide joy and light? 

As a companion-traveler on this journey, I hope to hear your stories, learn about your families and cultures, and seek ways to understand. 

May this week provide opportunities and choices that break from the past or current stories which separate us.  Let us seek to see and experience a brighter world through dialogue, understanding, and forgiveness.

Larry Gardepie
(Seeking the Sacred in You)
Dialogue San Diego Consulting