April 1, 2021March 19, 2021

Becoming

by
Becoming

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death..”

— Anais Nin

When my kids were small, we used to spend time playing board games together.  Me, being all about the nostalgia of my youth, I introduced them to the game called “LIFE.”  You know, the board game that simulates a person’s travels through his or her life, from college to retirement, with jobs, marriage, and possible children along the way. My kids were 5 and 7 year olds at the time, I know, they were very little, but I thought it would be fun, and quietly, I also thought it would introduce them to the concept of chores through earning and receiving compensation for your efforts. 

Well, the best laid plans…  My daughter was never really one to conform, play games, or do anything really that she did not want to do so as we had started playing “LIFE,” and as we were advancing through the game, making money, taking turns, and being together, it came to be her turn and she just sat there staring at the board.  I finally asked her if she was OK, and she said, “So wait, why are we playing this game?  What is it for?” (I believe she meant what is the point , but she was five so…   I explained the usual, things about choices, and consequences, and learning and growing through life experiences, etc.  She looked at me and stood up then tossed the game board and started walking out of the room all while saying, “Well what’s the fun in that!  Pretending LIFE.  Why play this game when we could be playing outside!”  

My son and I gathered up the game, packed it away, and went outside to join my daughter.  Why did I tell you this story?  Because of the layers.  The layers of living.  The layers of experiencing.  The layers of becoming. Perseverance, and persistence to continue forward in the face of encountering experiences that may be different that what we would have done, but being able to look deeply into the journey to find the prize of the lesson in the experience.  

Living through all the complexities that go along with all that life has to offer in a way that allows the opportunity for growth, expansion, leveling up, and becoming.  My daughter has always been a challenging spirit with a deep thirst for pushing the envelope in ways that  require my family to grow and become more of everything, every day.  To become more informed each day through the necessity of looking closely at the awareness, experiences, and challenges of yesterday. To evolve, and to reflect and to wake up each day never really knowing what would be in store, but always eager for the challenge. To become more and more of our individual selves by the nature of experiencing LIFE with my daughter, with my friends, with my work, and with the world.  

  • Judith Hogan, DRE

Soul Matters, Calendar Connections: April 2021 – Becoming

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