I am sure if you are like me, which I am certain you are, you have realized that life is not always easy and things don't go your way all the time. But when I was very young and too young to remember I was sick for more than a year. In fact I spent most of my first year and I did spend my first birthday in the hospital. By my second birthday they had taken out my tonsils and they figured out I was extremely allergic to milk. Now that is not too big of a problem, normally.
My challenge was that I was living in Grainola which is about 50 miles from Pawhuska, Ponca City and Winfield, Kansas (where I was born). That means we lived a long way from being able to get to the doctor or hospital in a hurry and many times mom and dad needed to hurry because I could not breath due to allergies. I do have to explain that I always lived in Grainola growing up but our family doctor was in Winfield. The second problem is we lived on a dairy farm and we milked cows so milk was in everything. There was another problem with living on a farm and that was I was allergic to dust.
OK, so back to the point. Well do you remember when you did not get the best grade? I remember when we had spelling contest every Friday and Debbie Jones and in fact almost everyone else in the class out spelled me. I sat down faster than anyone else. The way it worked is if you were given a word to spell and you were wrong you got to sit down. I just hoped I would be the last in line so I could sit down later rather than sooner. I NEVER WON. Then there was penmanship which I was lousy at. It was not that I did not want to be good but it was that I did not have the patience and some might say the talent.
Of course we can go on and on with those disappointments in life but you know I think that is what makes all of us better, hard times, disappointments, hurts, pains, cuts, bruises (sometimes on the bottom if you know what I mean), headaches, and on and on. If a person learns early on how to deal with these things and learns everything is not handed to them but EARNED I believe it makes them a better person. You see (metaphorically speaking and that is the biggest word I know) it is impossible to protect a child from everything but it is possible to be their cheer leader and encourage them when it gets tough. YOU can share wisdom or just be an EXAMPLE for them on how to overcome and that their decisions are what make the difference and how they react to challenges.
I guess I am just trying to say we need to stop enabling children to be poor decision makers and start being what we need to be as an example and mentor. With that I am taking the position "it is never too late to start". Mentor someone, help someone, start again on your own life but don't give in to defeat or depression or misfortune.
So what do you learn from the Osage?
My challenge was that I was living in Grainola which is about 50 miles from Pawhuska, Ponca City and Winfield, Kansas (where I was born). That means we lived a long way from being able to get to the doctor or hospital in a hurry and many times mom and dad needed to hurry because I could not breath due to allergies. I do have to explain that I always lived in Grainola growing up but our family doctor was in Winfield. The second problem is we lived on a dairy farm and we milked cows so milk was in everything. There was another problem with living on a farm and that was I was allergic to dust.
OK, so back to the point. Well do you remember when you did not get the best grade? I remember when we had spelling contest every Friday and Debbie Jones and in fact almost everyone else in the class out spelled me. I sat down faster than anyone else. The way it worked is if you were given a word to spell and you were wrong you got to sit down. I just hoped I would be the last in line so I could sit down later rather than sooner. I NEVER WON. Then there was penmanship which I was lousy at. It was not that I did not want to be good but it was that I did not have the patience and some might say the talent.
Of course we can go on and on with those disappointments in life but you know I think that is what makes all of us better, hard times, disappointments, hurts, pains, cuts, bruises (sometimes on the bottom if you know what I mean), headaches, and on and on. If a person learns early on how to deal with these things and learns everything is not handed to them but EARNED I believe it makes them a better person. You see (metaphorically speaking and that is the biggest word I know) it is impossible to protect a child from everything but it is possible to be their cheer leader and encourage them when it gets tough. YOU can share wisdom or just be an EXAMPLE for them on how to overcome and that their decisions are what make the difference and how they react to challenges.
I guess I am just trying to say we need to stop enabling children to be poor decision makers and start being what we need to be as an example and mentor. With that I am taking the position "it is never too late to start". Mentor someone, help someone, start again on your own life but don't give in to defeat or depression or misfortune.
So what do you learn from the Osage?
- when the going gets tough the tough get going
- defeat is a frame of mind not a permanent part of us
- If life were easy we would not appreciate the good times
- Let's all get started
Thanks for listening,
gary@thepioneeman.com
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