I love Jennifer's blog Faking It. Her posts are always smart and insightful and timely. This post really resonated with me, especially her last paragraph.
That my actions, both big and small, have the power to affect those I love, and even those I don't know, in such dramatic ways as to change their life's projection possibly forever does really, as Jennifer says, "bring me to my knees". It is really humbling and frightening and sobering for me to realize not only that I possess this power, but that I am vulnerable to the powers of others to forever change my life's course. It makes me wonder in what ways my life is what it is because of another person's power (good or bad) to take me to a place I'd never thought I'd find myself. After all, I was never getting married and I was never having kids. I was going to have a very important career and I was going to live in a very big city. And gosh here I am, married with not just your 2.5 kids but 6 kids. I do have a very important "career", but not the one I was anticipating. I am looking forward to the day we move to our 70 acres with few neighbors and a 45 minute drive from the nearest mid-size city. Jennifer's thoughts make me even more aware of how important it is to live in the present moment and to act with deliberate intention rather than to simply act or react without considering the power my actions will have on others - those I love, those I care about, those I'll never meet. It is definitely something I strive for but generally and often fall short of. Thanks for the post Jennifer and I must remember to "use my powers for good and not evil".
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4 comments:
Hey, isn't that the Spiderman theory? "With great power comes responsibility".
But you're right. And we all need these little reminders about life.
First, I have to say, thank you so much for the kind words. Truly. Thank you.
And I love where you went with this. I simply cannot escape, lately, this idea of the power we each have and how vulnerable we each are to each other. I love how you took that one step further -- to thinking about the responsibility we each have to one another. The responsibility to "act with deliberate intent"...yes!
NGIP,
I am woefully ignorant of the ethics and morals associated with superheroes. Sounds like I could learn a thing or two from reading some comics. I know 2 or 3 boys currently taking up residence here and creating scads of laundry that would love to share that experience with me. Sounds like we could even count this as "school".
Kimberly
Jennifer,
You are very welcome. I sincerely meant everything I said. I get so much from your blog. You have a way of getting to the heart of the matter in a very concise and succint way. Wish I could distill my thought as well.
Kimberly
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