Guides Among Us

I watched a great film the other day that was the epitome of perseverance, as it highlighted the plight of the underdog and how one can will themselves to do great things, especially when nobody else thought it was possible.  Aside from it being a great feel good movie, there were a lot of elements in it that reminded me of some of the circumstances that many of us have had to overcome in our lives.  For instance, if a person grew up in a family where they were not provided with a lot of encouragement or their upbringing was part of an ongoing struggle that was transferred to them, they grew up with emotional scars that can be very tough to heal.  It is bad enough that everyone can struggle with self esteem along with self confidence as part of growing pains, however, when you start adding other components to an already tough situation, then a life walk can have some very steep steps.  For some people who have had to contend with many difficulties in their lives, it can feel like someone is always walking uphill.  People never realize until a much later time that a tough progression can have multiple positive effects on a person, especially when you have perspective of what can define achievement.  Yet, none of it is immediately apparent as a lesson when presented, as it is usually a tough moment to absorb.  What we typically learn about ourselves when we have overcome a particular tough period is that it taught us how resilient we can be  Most individuals can recall tough times that they experienced in their childhood, much more vividly than when they were adults.  Because our formative years are filled with many experiences that enabled us to learn about ourselves and the world around us, we all grow up with varied degrees of exposure to life's school of emotions.  One of the things that I found and later looked forward to, is that at one point or another someone came onto your path, which caused positive emotions or reactions that made you feel that things were going to be alright.  These individuals had the wisdom and power to show us that a bad experience can be utilized for a greater purpose.  If I had a term for any of these individual I would call them guides, as they provided light to us in some of our most difficult circumstances.  The effect of a guide in our lives can be transformative, as all of us can remember somebody that we connected to, who made us feel that we could achieve our life's dreams.  Some people had a great teacher, others had a family friend or perhaps it was your own parent that provided you with the words that you needed to hear in order to feel that sense of comfort you needed.  We should all be so thankful if we can name one or two guides that made an impact in our lives and how we ended up becoming who we are today, because of their impact.  As an adult, I learned that while I may have been lucky and fortunate for having someone who showed me the way when I needed it, there were others around me that either missed the signal completely or were not receptive to what a guide was telling them.  People that grow up with bitterness and resentment for something that they endured can have the most difficult experiences in their personal growth, because they have accumulated years of wounded feelings and the painful memories.  Some people find comfort in living with a victim mentality versus that of a survivor perspective, simply because they become accustomed to those feelings and are not willing to forgive, in order to let the healing process take its course.  I don't know why it is that some people have had to suffer during their evolutionary process, while others seem to rarely have that type of experience in their lives.  However, I do know that resilience, strength and the will to achieve are the foundation to those that experienced the harder life and as such tend to raise the bar for their own expectations.  As in the movie that I saw, what was deemed a losing proposition for many, ended up becoming the catalyst for unprecedented success.  A story that can have deep motivational threads within it, will always appeal to me as I love a great lesson told with a meaningful ending that everyone can relate to.  If you happen to see someone that is in need of a guide, don't hesitate to shine your light in their direction.  You never know how you can impact another person during their time of need and more importantly, we all owe the guides that came before us the ability to pay them back when ever the opportunity arises.