growing pains us....
"You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was."
Abraham Lincoln
I'm the eldest son of an eldest son of an elder family who have tilled the earth of County Antrim at the foot of Slemish Mountain for the past four centuries, and I carry my family's name with great pride.
Despite my love of history and the pride I have of my ancestors, I believe that Humanity is genetically coded to thrive best when we are continually seeking new growth and are working hard at becoming comfortable with the consequences of successful growth. Whether that is as an individual growing beyond their present state, or a small group of interdependent people striving to grow as a community with a clear purpose, or as larger societies that seek to become more than we presently are.
People have an innate desire to expand beyond their current boundaries. Yet many people never leave the shadow cast by those who came before them, and so they fail to find new places to belong as interdependent adults. These people live in the past, passionately polishing the memorabilia of their ancestors. They revere the traditions of the past, believing that the passage of time brings a layer of dependability that newer ideas or systems inherently lack, mostly mistrusting anything that is newer than their grandparents' day.
Knowing where I come from is an essential core tool that helps equip me to successfully explore the obscured fog of the future. Tradition is like the leather we use to make a stout pair of boots, protecting one's feet and ankles from the rugged ground of tomorrow. But when I depend upon the growth my grandfather rather than accepting that I must grow on my own, then I become a stunted effigy in the shadow of a generation who experienced growth, and that shadow offers us little chance of growing into a great person or generation.
Growing is painful, and it takes incredible amounts of energy and courage to respect the past while seeking a purpose and place that dwells in the newness of the future.
I've just experienced another personal growth spurt in my own life that has been causing me growing pains, and while the growth spurt has just ended it still remains uncomfortable, as I have yet to gain confidence in my new size and shape. There are those from my past who might be tempted to believe that my passion to grow is a defamation of where I come from. But the opposite is true, for I take great comfort in knowing that I am one link among hundreds, son following son through generations with each succeeding generation making new spaces for the Millars to survive and thrive in.
Our family motto is "The best awaits in heaven." I believe that motto is both a challenge and a standard for those of us who stand on the giant shoulders of our forefathers and that our family has not been willing to accept the precursors of perfection that we gained in the past. Our clan demands that we lean into the future, always focusing forward to a day when our family's full potential is finally realized.
When was the last time you suffered through a growth spurt? Or are you depending on how tall your grandfather was?
Despite my love of history and the pride I have of my ancestors, I believe that Humanity is genetically coded to thrive best when we are continually seeking new growth and are working hard at becoming comfortable with the consequences of successful growth. Whether that is as an individual growing beyond their present state, or a small group of interdependent people striving to grow as a community with a clear purpose, or as larger societies that seek to become more than we presently are.
People have an innate desire to expand beyond their current boundaries. Yet many people never leave the shadow cast by those who came before them, and so they fail to find new places to belong as interdependent adults. These people live in the past, passionately polishing the memorabilia of their ancestors. They revere the traditions of the past, believing that the passage of time brings a layer of dependability that newer ideas or systems inherently lack, mostly mistrusting anything that is newer than their grandparents' day.
Knowing where I come from is an essential core tool that helps equip me to successfully explore the obscured fog of the future. Tradition is like the leather we use to make a stout pair of boots, protecting one's feet and ankles from the rugged ground of tomorrow. But when I depend upon the growth my grandfather rather than accepting that I must grow on my own, then I become a stunted effigy in the shadow of a generation who experienced growth, and that shadow offers us little chance of growing into a great person or generation.
Growing is painful, and it takes incredible amounts of energy and courage to respect the past while seeking a purpose and place that dwells in the newness of the future.
I've just experienced another personal growth spurt in my own life that has been causing me growing pains, and while the growth spurt has just ended it still remains uncomfortable, as I have yet to gain confidence in my new size and shape. There are those from my past who might be tempted to believe that my passion to grow is a defamation of where I come from. But the opposite is true, for I take great comfort in knowing that I am one link among hundreds, son following son through generations with each succeeding generation making new spaces for the Millars to survive and thrive in.
Our family motto is "The best awaits in heaven." I believe that motto is both a challenge and a standard for those of us who stand on the giant shoulders of our forefathers and that our family has not been willing to accept the precursors of perfection that we gained in the past. Our clan demands that we lean into the future, always focusing forward to a day when our family's full potential is finally realized.
When was the last time you suffered through a growth spurt? Or are you depending on how tall your grandfather was?
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