Family- 12-21-2010

It's been raining for days, gotta appreciate a West coast winter.  All this rain has  allowed me to put pen to paper, getting back to my passion, writing, has brought on some new revelations.  

My Pastor once said you should surround yourself with people that make you feel inferior. In essence, I believe he was saying that your association should be with those that make you question your position, challenge you to do better.  Those people whose walk line up with their talk.  

I must confess that as a child I was taught you are only as good as your environment.  Family members used to tell me that if they couldn't do "it" then neither could I.  Such toxic suggestions.  As a child I thrived to be the exact opposite of those that spoke death into my life.

I tried to do any and everything to remove myself from the dysfunction I thought surrounded me.  I wanted to choice my family , choice my influences, where were the ones that would challenge me to do better? How come they didn't live in my household?

Now, I recognize that instead of running from the dislikes of my upbringing, I should be determined to take every experience and learn from them.  Every "dysfunction" in my family can and has built and continues to build character in me.

Every trial, tragedy, and triumph is what makes me better because I say so. I choose to embrace every part of my family tree no matter how twisted the roots might appear to be.

True success starts @ home, loving your relatives unconditionally allows love to spill over in every area of your life.