Friday, May 31, 2013

Finding Ourselves


“Losing family obliges us to find our family…The only thing left to say will be ‘I wish I had seen this’ or ‘I wish I had done that’… ” The word family, in today’s generation, means so much more than we think. No longer does it mean simply father, mother, sibling, etc. It now ties the terms foster parent, friend, classmate, teacher, neighbor, fans, etc. under the umbrella. We no longer live in a world where “normal” makes sense. There isn’t a “normal” way of being anymore. The phrase has evolved into so many different meanings now that it is hard to tell them apart anymore.

            When we tie in these different meanings of “family,” we strive to find it anywhere in our lives. It is a sense of belonging and allows us to be a part of something, a group, a team, a unit of love, liking, or understanding that we may not get elsewhere. We lose it and the situation shakes our world until we are able to grab on again to possibly another family. We become lost and ever searching for the companionship of others that are most like us. Finding our family is like finding ourselves. We find our best partners, our greatest supporters, and our finest moments. Our family is the biggest reflection of who we are as individuals. They are the mirrors we often avoid yet strive to always look into.

            When we start regretting things in our past or even in our present, we often find the words, “What if…?” most comforting. There is always something else we could have done or said to ease our minds and our hearts. In these situations we, more often than not, shut people out or push them away just so we can bottle our regrets within ourselves and not allow anyone else to see the reflection we give to ourselves. Real family is always there to give us the true reflection that we need.

            Death, new beginnings, forgotten pasts, change, new futures can all be unfortunate times when we lose our family. But in these losses, we then struggle and endeavor to find them again in the most unknown locations. No matter whom they may be. A friendly neighbor who clips flowers for us, a teacher that becomes a mentor, a foster parent that gives us hope for a brighter future, a fellow fan that greets us at every game with a smile, a friend that lends a shoulder or a hand when we need it most. We find them yesterday, today, and tomorrow. For it is when we find our family that we find ourselves.