Making
Our Own Choices
“One's
philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the
choices one makes...and the choices we make are ultimately our
responsibility.”
Eleanor
Roosevelt
I've
been watching the Ken Burns' PBS documentary about The Roosevelts. I
was particularly ignorant about Theodore Roosevelt, who seems to have
been a force of nature. He re-sculpted land-masses and humanity; and
if he met resistance, had no hesitation about bringing lethal harm to
whatever and whoever stood in his way. He was a man called great by
some, and the epitome of the devil by others, and, indeed, both were
true.
My
real interest in watching the series, however, was Eleanor. I knew
she had written the United Nations charter on human rights, but
little else about her. What a great mind she was, and how courageous
to have trimmed her own sail at a time when women were expected
simply to tend the home fires and the needs of family. I had no idea
how influential she was in the early women's movement, beginning with
suffrage and labor laws. She found her stride at mid-life, after
having squarely faced blow after blow to her confidence, not the
least of which was Franklin's infidelity.
Choosing
the life we will lead is not always easy. Often, it flies in face of
societal expectations, and family agendas. For most of us, there is a
pivotal moment in which we make “the grand choice,” either to
walk in the footsteps already laid for us, or to strike our own
trail. In either case, sacrifices are made, and rewards gained.
However we choose, we will lose some opportunities, and acquire others.
Our choices determine the quality of our life, and set its course, and they are ours alone to make.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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