My Aha Moment

I realize now that I took the wrong approach when I began the endeavor of blogging. I wanted to discipline myself to blog every day at first, and then every other day when I became aware that the well of material would soon run dry. Discipline is fine, but that was outside the goal I wanted to achieve. The goal was to share my thoughts, experiences and, at the risk of conceit, my wisdom on occasion.

The epiphany struck me this evening. One should blog when one has something about which to blog. Inspiration is the lifeblood of every writer. Writer's block is nothing more than the mind telling the flesh that now is not the time. The inspiration will guide you.

Tonight, I watched The Miracle Worker with my daughter. I have never been more content in my life. If you wonder how Barbie dolls, Play-Doh, Legos and Monopoly have stood the test of time, it's because we want so desperately to share those experiences with our offspring. We recapture those childhood feelings symbiotically and empathetically through our children.

At the respective ages of 17 and 56, my daughter and I hardly have much in common. We don't watch the same shows, read the same books or even entertain ourselves in the same ways. She has no more interest in playing Bookworm than I do in watching Pretty Little Liars.

However, tonight we shared, and it opened my eyes. We have more in common than I think, and it's because we share the same values--the important things in life. We both love the movie Remember the Titans, and we watch it whenever we get the chance, because it promotes our values of equality and acceptance, regardless of race, creed or color. We shared the experience of The Miracle Worker tonight because of our desire to see that those who are afflicted with mental or physical disorders be given the same opportunities we have had.

These aren't values based on a religious, philosophical or political ideology. These are basic human values that we should all share if we expect to survive together. I sat on the easy chair while she lay on the couch, comforted by the fact that for whatever reason she has inherited those values. That supercedes all the physical attributes, good or bad, that she may have inherited. I have peace knowing that I am sending into the adult world a human being who will make the planet better, even if in a small way.

Long after I'm gone, no one will remember me like they remember William Shakespeare, Susan B. Anthony, Albert Einstein or Marie Curie. My legacy will not contain fame or fortune, but to me something more valuable. My legacy will be that I have carried the best of my values that my parents instilled in me, and their parents before them, and will assure that they pass to at least one more generation.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  --Margaret Mead