Decide

Just as my life has been full of many opportunities, my life has also been full of many decisions. My experiences have often stemmed from a string of minor and major decisions, each having a consequence, good or bad. Although every decision seems separate, they are all linked in the myriad of our make-up as people. 

It's like the ripple-effect: if you drop a stone in water, you will see little ripples of water move outward. So are our lives.  I have heard the saying, "No man is an island". The decisions we make influence (knowing or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally) the lives of those around us. Imagine we intentionally used this ripple effect for transformation in our communities.

Yes, there are very dear people in all of our lives, that spent their lives making sure we could live ours. For me, this is my parents and family. I am immensely grateful, especially to my mother and father, for every sacrifice they have made for me. I often think about children who do not have this solid foundation to build on, in terms of their parents being there for them. In retrospect, I realize that I make the decisions I do today because of the influence of my parents: they have taught me how to navigate life and its many twists and turns.

Our decisions are based upon how important people in our lives have influenced us. They are also based on how we see ourselves, and how we see ourselves in relation to those around us. 

So, in life, we come across the "rotten" fruits of our poor decisions. We see a tree of bad attitudes, destructive behavior and actions. We see a bark of circumstances and even background. But we seldom look for and closely examine the root. I often think the root of most poor decisions is a tainted view of oneself. It's like looking at yourself in a cracked mirror. Granted, in sticking with the tree analogy, this is often due to absent gardeners, lack of sunshine, being fed the wrong plant food, or not having enough water. Despite all of the many reasons, the decision is still ours to make, as to who we want to be.

We decide daily: to act, to react, to respond, to laugh, to speak, to remain silent, to play, to engage, to take action, to eat, to sleep, to feel, to love...to live. No matter what circumstances we are surrounded by, we decide who we want to be. This speaks about our character, our work ethic, the way we treat people and why we do things (motives).

I think that true transformation comes from within - and is often linked to a decision. The truth is that we do not have control over the decisions others make. However, we can help young people see their potential, by giving them a "new mirror" to see through. We might actually have the privilege of helping the roots in some of these young lives to grow well, and healthily, so that this has a ripple effect into the rest of their lives.