The Struggle Bus is Real
News flash: Life is really hard.
(Jokes, it's not actually news.)
In terms of humankind in general, there are a multitude of things about each of us that are dissimilar. You only have to think for about 2.3 seconds to identify a difference between either individuals or groups of people that has caused a major conflict in the past, be that race, political affiliation, gender, prejudice, or just about anything else. Even when our differences are not causing major conflicts (as in, at the war/revolution level), they still have powerful potential to sever our bonds with each other as individuals. These conflicts are a huge part of what makes life hard.
The commonality underlying all of these differences, though, is the need, inherent to each person, to be loved. In my experience, in our society we're kind of bombarded with bickering definitions of what "love" actually looks like, what it's supposed to be. We're also inundated with messages about individuality, and how much security there is in being alone and independent. While there is truth contained in a lot of those definitions, and there is merit in being capable of relying on oneself, there is enough variance and controversy between different viewpoints that I've found myself not exactly knowing what to believe.
What I do know is that the most constant source of love and validation that I've personally been blessed with is my family. Not everyone has a stable home environment, but for many people, their relationship with their family is their main way to maintain stability in a world where everything refuses to stay the same. As I'm coming closer to the point where I'll get to start building my own family, a lot of the things that I see happening in the world relative to family concern me: the prevalence of premarital sex and the problems it often leads to, the number of people living alone, the number of single mothers, cohabitation, and divorce chief among them. The family unit and its stability are being attacked on a daily basis.
This is kind of an elaboration of my last post, but my purpose in writing this blog is to find out what is true. Because of the cards life has dealt me, I've become a bit of what I refer to as a "truth enthusiast". If I'm being confused by all the different viewpoints floating around, I know other people must be, too. There are a lot of things that I want to understand better about family and exactly why and how they fulfill the human need to be loved. I had the privilege of being raised in an exceptional family that I knew loved me, but because not everyone has had that experience does not mean that everyone cannot find stability and love through having a healthy family.
Again, bear with me as I learn more about this, and share the things that I learn. Here's to your family, and mine.
Becca
(Jokes, it's not actually news.)
In terms of humankind in general, there are a multitude of things about each of us that are dissimilar. You only have to think for about 2.3 seconds to identify a difference between either individuals or groups of people that has caused a major conflict in the past, be that race, political affiliation, gender, prejudice, or just about anything else. Even when our differences are not causing major conflicts (as in, at the war/revolution level), they still have powerful potential to sever our bonds with each other as individuals. These conflicts are a huge part of what makes life hard.
The commonality underlying all of these differences, though, is the need, inherent to each person, to be loved. In my experience, in our society we're kind of bombarded with bickering definitions of what "love" actually looks like, what it's supposed to be. We're also inundated with messages about individuality, and how much security there is in being alone and independent. While there is truth contained in a lot of those definitions, and there is merit in being capable of relying on oneself, there is enough variance and controversy between different viewpoints that I've found myself not exactly knowing what to believe.
What I do know is that the most constant source of love and validation that I've personally been blessed with is my family. Not everyone has a stable home environment, but for many people, their relationship with their family is their main way to maintain stability in a world where everything refuses to stay the same. As I'm coming closer to the point where I'll get to start building my own family, a lot of the things that I see happening in the world relative to family concern me: the prevalence of premarital sex and the problems it often leads to, the number of people living alone, the number of single mothers, cohabitation, and divorce chief among them. The family unit and its stability are being attacked on a daily basis.
This is kind of an elaboration of my last post, but my purpose in writing this blog is to find out what is true. Because of the cards life has dealt me, I've become a bit of what I refer to as a "truth enthusiast". If I'm being confused by all the different viewpoints floating around, I know other people must be, too. There are a lot of things that I want to understand better about family and exactly why and how they fulfill the human need to be loved. I had the privilege of being raised in an exceptional family that I knew loved me, but because not everyone has had that experience does not mean that everyone cannot find stability and love through having a healthy family.
Again, bear with me as I learn more about this, and share the things that I learn. Here's to your family, and mine.
Becca
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