My daughter and grandson were here recently, visiting from Toronto for a couple weeks. When I dropped them off at the airport for their flight home, my daughter paid me a compliment that every parent waits to hear. It made me feel like maybe I did things right by her after all.
Her compliment also made me contemplate about the years of raising my kids. I realized that I did my best with what I had. One of the things I did that helped my kids a lot was to give them a home that was a safe haven from the outside world. There are a lot of things that kids deal with at school and in the playground; teasing, fighting, and being judged by their peers. In our home, there was zero tolerance for these things. Instead, I instilled in our home a feeling of safety, understanding, compassion and support. As I think about it, I made our home a product of me.
It's true that to some degree, we are a product of our environment. I don't think it can be helped in some cases. I also know for a fact that to an even greater degree, we can make our environment a product of us. From this point, it can take on a snowball effect. We make our environment a product of us, then those in that environment are affected by it if they choose, and then they go on to affect the environment they interact with, again, if they so choose. For example, I make my home a product of me, my children become somewhat a product of our home, and in turn they gain qualities that help them to make their own environment a product of who they are.
The big "uh huh" light went on and I could clearly see the connection to this train of thought and the one that Sifu Brinker is trying to instill in his students. We make a difference in ourselves, then our homes, then our communities, and our influence continues to spread to other areas of the world. Silent River kung fu is a product of those who run it, mainly Sifu Brinker. The good that happens within it's walls can change lives, and families, thus rippling out into the community, and thanks to the world wide web, it also ripples out to the world. ie...UBBT. This influence of the school in the community also includes charities, volunteer work and demonstrations.
Joan of Arc was one of my heroes. She is an incredible example of making her environment a product of who she was, what she believed in, and what she so courageously did. She grew up as a poor, humble, uneducated young girl, living in a poor home in a poor community that lacked hope of a better tomorrow. Yet...she influenced her environment in such a way that she changed the very tides of history. She gave her home, her community and her country a reason to hope, and a reason to fight for a better future.
We are all a product of our environment, but to what degree depends on us and us alone. In grade 9, I was in foster care and went to 4 different schools in that one year. With the semester systems different at each school, I missed a lot of math. Today, I still don't know much about algebra. But that's my choice. I could easily take a class and learn it. Some people just are who they are because of their upbringing, and missed opportunities. Some people, through the examples of others, look for the opportunities, and grab them by the horns. They become a product of their environment in a more positive way. They recognize a need for change and they take it, no matter the level of risk, fear, or sacrifice.
Unfortunately there are those that are not happy in their environment, and they recognize a need for change, but aren't willing to do something about it. Sometimes the unhappy situation feels more safe and secure than the unknown. I understand this, and the strength of it's power. So I respect people in this type of situation. It is still heartbreaking though, to see someone live in an unhappy environment when they have such potential to break free, take the risk and make improvements.
It's important for me to pass on these thoughts to my children. Are you a product of your environment, or is your environment a product of you? Or...do you have a healthy balance of both? We can't live other peoples lives for them, but we can influence them for the better through our example and through making our immediate environment no matter how large or small a positive, uplifting, happy and secure one.
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