By Elvenia Gray-Sandiford
Every day we make choices that not only affect our wellness and our lives, but impact the world around us. We cannot live through one day without making an impact on our world through our actions or inactions!
One acorn produces a mighty oak tree. Many small acorns from that one tree can produce a forest with the potential to dramatically affect change in the environment. It produces a harvest far greater than our minds could ever imagine or its size would have indicated.
Likewise, each of us is born full of potential. We choose if we want to be rooted and productive or not. One thing for certain is that the choices we make not only leave an impression on our lives but also powerfully affect the world around us.
Our daily choices have unavoidable consequences, which in turn induce emotional responses. In the grave lies lots of immense potential, great ideas, and unused talent. Remember that once we are alive, we all have potential and purpose, even when we have great ideas not yet acted on or dreams that have not yet become a reality.
Our past does not define us. Our family does not define us. Our upbringing, where we come from, our colour, class, creed, religious beliefs, financial or social background should not be barriers to us fulfilling our potential. Recognizing that our life has meaning, and we all have purpose, and that if we only expect the minimum from ourselves, that is all we will be able to give. Let us not get out of bed in the mornings to see what is going to happen; rather, let us get out of bed to make something positive happen.
When we depart from this world and our friends and family lay us to rest, for some, their memories of us will fade with time. Let us then ask ourselves, what is the legacy that we are leaving behind to keep our memory alive? What do we complain to our friends and family about? How can we show our effectiveness? What sparks our interest? What do we feel strongly about? Once we surpass the limitations we place on ourselves, we will be unstoppable. With renewed focus we can better resist distraction.
The lead of a pencil is hidden deep inside, yet it’s very important. To get to it, we have to keep shaving our pencils. To show its purpose and worth, we have to continue adding pressure for it to visibly produce our thoughts. The eraser of a pencil is an especially useful section, because it gives us the opportunity to delete our mistakes and try again.
That is also a necessary part of the process to keep us moving forward. We may feel the impacts of stressors shaving us down, but we must press on. If we never make a mark, we will never know what we are capable of or where we need to try again.
Making our mark on this world can be as big as stepping out to serve in public positions that can change policies, or simply helping the neighbour to cut the grass. It comes down to being productive and purposely making the effort to bring about positive change. What gift or talent do we have that has been hidden? What dreams do we have that seem to have been deferred? Let’s take the first step to reclaiming and trying again!
editorial@accjournal.ca
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