One of the few bloggers I enjoy expanding on a topic online with is Murray Lunn. Some of the posts he has provokes thoughts which I’ve mentioned before in finding comfort from a blog.
Recently, he commented on why labor is a matter of perspective with character as a trait of which our labor can derive from. That brings me to today’s topic as it’s an important aspect of you as a person. So in celebration of yours as well as mine, I want to show you how my fathers have helped me build my character.
Differences Can Show You Inspirations
I grew up with more than one dad. I was lucky that they both didn’t show me a side of life which crippled my vision for the future. Instead, they enabled me to look at it from another perspective – you make the most of what you get. Now that could be a lot!
At the point, I didn’t like the Barbies or clothes which my mother dressed me up in. Instead, I found role playing effective as a child with G. I. Joes or He-Man action figures. Strange but muscles and guns seemed to be more realistic to me than the colors or hair of my doll.
It was during this stage that I learned the difference between power and feelings. As much as my mother called me ugly, I went with my instinct and stuck to what was true, me, or at least what I thought was me. I just knew that I could be anything I wanted to be.
So while Mom cared about how I presented myself to the world, my father got a kick out of how I portrayed myself. It was my mother who did most of the teaching and it was my father who observed how I grew up. From that point I’ve learned where most of my inspirations would come from.
Basically, I knew who to run to when I needed something. Knowing this kept me motivated. It made the differences and mixed emotions I had as a child bearable. Later, this was helpful as I learned to find outlets which helped me become stronger.
When you’re being adjusted to different living situations with a different father, being flexible with your conditions can help you understood that sometimes what you got is not really what you should get.
You actually have a choice. Either you choose to be miserable in situations you can’t control or be happy and find out what makes you productive.
Find Wisdom Within the Printed Page
For me, the world which opened up possibilities has always been inside books. My fascination with words and literature grew around the walls and corners of my room as a teenager. I knew there was power in words which I wanted to understand. Part of that was also the need to interact with my parents better through building language.
While my mother began to shake her head and didn’t really understand how much ideas intrigued me, my father knew. He would bring home magazines from airports, offices and anywhere there was binded material. He basically fed me education from the world. This was before there was even anything called the internet.
Soon as computers became an essential skill for the new workforce, my father brought home a throwaway which I practiced on. At that time, Windows was nowhere to be found. Instead I was looking at a blinking line and prompt called DOS (disk operating system).
Even though it was all text, I was excited. I wanted to learn what was behind all that blank space and blinking line. I knew there was information which needed digging up so I typed in help and learned how to use a command line operating system.
I have my father to thank for bringing me closer to the real world. It was because he immersed himself with work everyday, he understood what he couldn’t understand and brought it home to give me and my siblings an opportunity for the future. He gave us something to develop ourselves and progress. That investment eventually paid off.
I later majored in computer networking but learned that it wasn’t my passion. However, I was good with it. My real passion is learning. I loved that I could pick up something I’m interested in and break it apart to put it together again in my own unique way. This was a characteristic trait which I believed helped me be where I am today. Especially with blogging which is an exercise of sharing my thoughts with the world.
My father knew that education was important so he always supported me and even my siblings as they went on to college. We all kind of felt grateful for knowing that as long as you make life your own, there’s nothing that you cannot do.
The Journey Beyond
When I think back, most of the positive self-esteem I’ve build throughout my early childhood came from my first father. You can say, I’m a daddy’s girl. Now I’ve mentioned I’ve got more than one dad. It’s true. I have two.
While my first dad let me embrace learning, my second dad taught me how to embrace love. Seeing how he and my mother are happy. I found that’s what I wanted too. They both make the most of life from enjoying each other’s company. Not only that, he has opened her wings to life which my first dad could not do. He let her grow.
Seeing this difference help me find my life partner. My later influence and character was shaped from this understanding of letting love become about what it truly is, your heart. The money, success and changes which comes with life’s choices will eventually happen no matter where you are in your life. Thus, the power of love is so strong that as long as you both support each other, anything is possible.
Overall, embracing learning and embracing those who love you is something we all participate in as we go through the funnel of friends and changes in each phase of our life. As you filter out what is truly you, your character will shine through.
Sometimes, it’s those differences which makes you unique. So when you do find out how you are, embrace it and build it strong. That’s your character. That’s the labor which comes from knowing that you’re making the most of what you’ve got.
I wish you all a great father’s day and may you, your family and father enjoy the day.
What are some of your thoughts about how differences can build your character? What kind of differences has shaped you?
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