Gifts from my Parents

Many of the news stories, social media, and advertisements from the Paris Olympics reminded us that no athlete came alone.  We saw many other family, friends, and community members help each athlete on their journey. Even if not all of the people who helped the athlete on their journey were present to see them compete, but they were there in spirit, rooting for their person.

This powerful narrative resonates with me because it acknowledges that we live in a network of people who support each other. Some of those networks are deep and others are spread wide. But we are not alone or separate from each other. When we choose to see these links between ourselves and others, we realize we are all connected and supported. It might be the neighbor who believed in you before you believed in yourself. Perhaps it was the parents who supported you along the way. Or possibly there were friends, coaches, and others who helped you gain the confidence and skills to perform.

This narrative invites me to reflect on the gifts my parents gave to me. Those gifts that have helped me become who I am.

Gifts from My Mother

My mother helped me to become a systems thinker. She was excellent at helping me see how all the parts of our community connected to a whole. Her generosity and volunteering helped others see how things connected to each other, and she brought this thinking to all of her volunteer work in our community. She modeled long term thinking and understood that we needed to see how things unfolded over time. It was from her that I learned the power of concepts in helping to make meaning of the world around her.

She was also voracious reader, and she shared her reading with others. Many times, these concepts she discovered in her reading were connected to our lived experience and provided frameworks to live by. She was always learning and I learned my joy of learning from her.

Gifts from My Father

My father gave me the power of seeing the person. He was curious about others and loved to get to know people and their uniqueness. His ability to build strong relationships helped me to learn how to initiate and build relationships across the world. My dad modeled the joy of helping people achieve their highest potential. He was very skilled at developing others, and I learned this from watching him. And he was genuine and friendly to everyone regardless of their station in life.

My father lived with several codes and expected us to incorporate them into our own lives, for example:

• When you give, give with both hands.
• The glass is always half full.
• Leave things better than you found them.

I re-read my father’s  obituary recently,  and these three sayings were lifted up as exemplars of my dad and his life philosophy.

My mom and dad left a wonderful set of gifts that have shaped me and my work today. In addition, I have been influenced by many amazing friends and acquaintances along my journey. It’s true that all of these gifts that have strengthened me and influenced who I am becoming.

But for this blog, I wanted to start at the beginning and the deep roots and fertile ground that my parents gave me. And to ask:

Who has given you wonderful gifts that you are grateful for?