As you write the story of your life, gain a new perspective on how to control what that final chapter will say.
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Welcome to the Be Your Best Self Blog by Marsha Abbott.
"The Book"
I look back on that time when I was a little girl and realize I was one of the lucky ones. In fact, I could easily argue that I had a pretty perfect childhood. And it isn’t because hard times and challenges didn’t fall on us…because let’s be real…it did. But when I say I had a perfect childhood, what I really mean is that I had wonderful parents who loved me unconditionally. I had some pretty cool siblings that were the best playmates around (even when we would argue or fight sometimes). I had a warm, cozy home and more food than I needed which gave me the security that every little one deserves to have in their life. And mostly, when I reflect upon my childhood, I can honestly say that all of my memories bring a smile to my face because I never had a truly bad moment in my life as a little girl. Like I said, I was one of the lucky ones.
So when I sit back and reflect fondly on all of these amazing memories that I am fortunate enough to have, I have to say that one of my favorites as a young child (and there are many) is the time we would pull books off of our large bookshelf collection, snuggle up, and read together. My mom was always the best about that. She would read to us with so much expression, and she would seem to get just as excited as we did about what the ending was going to bring. My older sister even started to model her efforts. Being the younger sister, she would sit me down and read to me regularly the “Hansel & Gretel” book. She read this story to me so many times that she literally had it memorized. Little does she know that this book became one of my favorites...just because it was hers. But I have to admit, it didn’t win out in the end as my best-loved childhood story.
Instead, my favorite book of all time was Bernstein Bears “No Girls Allowed.” So why was this book my ultimate favorite? It is going to make all of you laugh, but the only reason it won out was because of one simple thing. In the book, one of Sister Bear’s friends was named Marsha. It was even spelled right! And let’s face it…rarely do we see a character in any book with the name Marsha. So as you can imagine, it was so incredibly exciting to see that as a small child.
Is it just me who always seemed to have enjoyed some of these simple pleasures in life? Or did you too get excited about something so trivial? When you would see your name in print in one of your books, did you also feel happy? Did you think it was neat, and did it make you feel special?
I sure hope so. Because if it did, then it will be easier for you to join me on this journey I am about to take you on. And the fun part: This journey requires us to use our imagination…just like when we were little children.
On this excursion together, we are going to look at a different book. But it’s a story that is more important than any childhood book we could ever read. It will ultimately be your best-loved story…I am sure of it. And it’s a book that has your name in it too…many times in fact. And this novel, well let’s just say, that you know the author very, very well.
So put on your imagination cap, and let’s envision this next part together: Many, many years from now when you are no longer here on this Earth, I want you to imagine a little boy or a little girl who is a distant relative of yours. Imagine them getting ready for bed and walking over to that large bookshelf in their home which is filled with a pretty cool book collection. And then visualize that this little boy or girl looks up at their parent and asks if they can “pretty please” read this story. And when that parent pulls out the novel that their child pointed to, they see it is a book called “The Story of ‘fill in your name here’.” And it’s written by the one and only…that’s right…YOU. Then they sit down on their couch, snuggle up, and open that book and start to read about the story of your life.
Imagine this moment…think about what this book is going to say. How did your story play out? Were you the villain or the hero in this novel? What impact did you have in this world? Were you the “light” in other’s lives or did you only bring darkness? Did you strive to be a “giver” in this story or did you spend most of your life “taking”? What mark did you leave on this world? Were you brave and stood up for those who needed you or did you cower in the corner? And were you honest and ethical to those that surrounded you or would your future relatives be embarrassed of your actions? What is it really going to say?
There are so many questions we could ask ourselves if we were to imagine this moment…when your life has now become a book…a story. And while I would love to share today the answers to these questions with you, what we all know is that these are questions that can only be answered by you. Because, you see, only you know the truth of your past, and only you can control the actions in your future.
And if you are one of those out there who seem to be unhappy with how your story has unfolded so far, then maybe it’s time to change the narrative and figure out how to make the rest of your chapters better. It’s time to get out that pen and rewrite the next part of your novel…your story…and rewrite it in a way that makes it something you can be proud of.
Because whether good times fall on you or bad times cross your path…the best part of all of this is that you still get to be the author of how that story will play out. You get to choose what that little boy or little girl will read in the years to come. It’s your chance to Make.Your.Life. Now is the time to make yourself into the person you want to be…to figure out how to be the hero in your story. It truly is yours to write…it really is yours to live. And as the author, only you get the chance to determine when that final chapter arrives…how it is all going to end.
*For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com. Let’s work together to Be Our Very Best Selves!