The Dictionary of Life: Revised and Illustrated

Each of us at birth is give a blank book within which to write significant words. Words that reflect our life experiences.

As we grow and learn, we fill the pages, often unconsciously, with words.

For many of us, adoptee or not, the words may be sad, angry, hurtful, reflections of pain, grief and confusion.

But there comes a time when you suddenly remember that the book is there. You start to read, turning the pages with trembling fingers. Your heart begins to beat wildly.

“But wait!”, you think, “I wrote those words and definitions when I didn’t understand. They were written when I was yet a child in the language of primary emotions and reflexes. Now I can see things differently. I understand things differently.”

I can think, analyze, reflect, discern, consider the different sides of the story, decipher hidden meanings and concealed motives. I realize that I may have been a victim then, but I no longer am.

I can rewrite the stories, the scripts, the scenarios, and more importantly, the outcomes.

I have the power to rewrite the definitions and add depth and nuance to the meanings.

As my adoptive father loved to remind me when resolving an issue, “We may have lost the battle, but we’ve won the war.”

Yes, that is so true. We have the power to decide how we react to the events in our lives. We can change how they end, or at least the meaning we give them.

My new dictionary of life, revised and illustrated, is full of colour and hope. I have the power to decide how I describe the events and illustrate the scenes of my life. And so do you.

What new definitions are you going to write next, and how will you illustrate them?

Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Keep learning!

Claire :o)

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