Where you come from
Say you’re a leaf. And one day you fall from the beautiful tree from whence you came.
The wind picks up and whisks you away. Further and further from your tree you go.
You land on a river bank, and go coasting downstream for miles and miles.
Suddenly you get caught in a beaver’s dam, a thick web of branches and other leaves. Leaves from other trees. Trees you’ve never even seen before.
At first you detest this place. It’s nothing like your tree. And these leaves are nothing like your fellow leaves. They’re round and sharp at the edges, rigid and coiled at the stem. These leaves are different from you. Unwelcoming even.
Yet like you, they have a similar story for how they’ve arrived at this dam.
And now, you all serve a similar purpose. To keep the beaver’s dam together.
You can fight it and try to escape. Wait for the nearest fish to swim by and try to hop on for a ride away from this foreign land.
Or you can learn more about what this life is like. Maybe ask the other leaves to tell you their story. Maybe with time you might discover how you fit in with these leaves. How you fit in with this new place.
Maybe, just maybe, you open yourself up to the new and the different. You make a few leafy friends. And in the end, you decide not to make like a tree and leaf.
Here’s a claim that many like to make: the place you come from…your culture, your country, your religion, your upbringing…it has a profound affect on who you are, your perspective, the way you interact with the world…
This is definitely true. But here’s what I believe: it isn’t the end all be all of who you are or who you can become.
You are more than where you came from. You are shaped by your past. But you are a person who makes choices. Who chooses to learn. Grow. And change.
If you are closed off, you will miss out. On better relationships, unique experiences, and a life of contentment.
Why? Because the world around you is always changing in one way or another.
We need to learn how to exist in a space where we can hold on to the useful and important values we possess, while at the same time checking in to make sure these values or beliefs aren’t outdated or holding us back from a better existence.