|
"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."
~ Kevin Arnold
The image above is one I remember fondly from my childhood. Growing up in the Delta, it is an picture I saw repeatedly in many farm offices, implement and part stores and in many of the homes of my friends who owned or worked farms. I have not seen this photo since I was a boy. (As a father, it now holds a sweeter innocence I haven't noticed before.)
I was recently at Adventure Lake, just outside of Laurel. In the great room of the lodge they have a print of this photo. Almost immediately, memories of my childhood flooded my mind. As I relived some of the finer moments of my childhood growing up in the Delta, as well as some of the really dumb things my friends and I used to do, I couldn't help but think of the impact my friends and relatives, co-workers, community members and church family have had on my life and how those relationships have shaped who I am.
The influences, large and small, that we make on a person's life can have a great impact. Many times it's an impact we don't get to witness. I have noticed that as my family and I have travelled the state and moved from place to place, we try to take the best of the relationships we make and the best qualities of our role models in each community and incorporate those qualities in our own lives. Many times the people we learn these qualities from don't even know how much of an impact they have had on our development.
I am not sure if it is a generational thing or if it is just my thirst for knowledge but I am addicted to self help books. And not only books but any source of knowledge I can find, TV, magazines, biographies, testimonies, etc. that will help me grow and develop into a better contributor to society. Through this form of "self development" hopefully I can better myself and become a better influence to others.
Another way I greatly enjoy learning is by talking with "old timers" (or seasoned professionals, a term I have learned to respectfully identify them by). I appreciate the opportunity to learn from just about anyone who has had much more experience and a difference in upbringing that I have. And I will often find myself "sitting at their feet" and listening in awe without saying a word as they share their life stories with me.
Because I enjoy building relationships and developing my own life in this way, it is something I personally strive to do and make a conscious effort to improve and share with others. Hopefully by improving the relationships I engage in we can both learn and prosper together. Also, because I have a tendency to want to learn everything, I try to focus my areas of learning to what is relevant in my life at the time.
Currently I am reading four books that I hope you will find interesting. Perhaps as you start your summer vacation or are lounging by the pool this summer, you can pick up one of these books and share your experience with others. Remember, experience is gleaned from all types of interaction. Much of what we do in our personal and professional lives comes down to creating experience and generating stories to tell. What is the point of gaining the experience if you have no one to share it with?
The summer months are upon us. We have had beautiful weather in Jones County over the last several weeks. I encourage you to get outside. Enjoy some of our wonderful outdoor dining establishments. Take in some of the musical venues. Get out to ballgames and enjoy the pools and other water centric areas available to us in Jones County. As you are out and about, share your experiences and stories with others. If your vacation plans take you outside of Jones County, be sure to tell someone of all the wonderful things we have happening here and invite them to come see for themselves. Let's not only share our experiences with each other, let's share the Jones County experience!
The books I am reading are:
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership:Follow Them and People Will Follow You
by John C. Maxwell
Better Dads, Stronger Sons: How Fathers Can Guide Boys to Become Men of Character
by Rick Johnson
How to be Free from Bitterness, and Other Essays on Christian Relationships
by Jim Wilson
Two-Part Harmony
by Patrick M. Morley
| 
