Thursday's Child: Introduction

Thursday's child has far to go...

I'm sure you've heard that poem:
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go;
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living;
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

I was born on a Thursday. According to those who've analyzed this poem, Thursday's child will go far in life. Interestingly enough, I grew up believing it meant I would have a long row to hoe. In other words, I'd have to put in a lot of work if I wanted to succeed at anything.  And, that's pretty much been how my life has gone- working hard, struggling, always feeling like I have to overachieve at something or overcome something in life. For much longer than I'd like to admit, there was a part of me that felt "not good enough"; not warranting of accolade or praises- and I was always trying to make up for my existence.

What I've come to grasp is that, no matter what, I am a success. What I do is not so important as who I am. Not everyone in my life is going to agree that I am a person of value. Not everyone who claims to know me actually does. They know me from their own perspectives, their own agendas and their own agreements with themselves. Those who do not know me will judge me harshly. Those who do, will love me for who I am, and not what I achieve or do not achieve to their own ends. And, those who love me deeply will tend to overlook my faults and shortcomings, and may overly praise me for things I've done. In truth, the journey itself is the achievement.

I am not only the sum of my experiences. I am the creation of my choosing. Yes, each of us can say we are the product of our childhood environment, society, culture, et al.. but at some point in life, we must take responsibility for who we are, and who we want to be, and act accordingly.

I am not static. I am a dynamic, continuously changing person. Who I am today is not who I was five years ago, ten years ago, or thirty years ago. I choose to seek opportunities to learn, to grow, to strive toward the goal of becoming the best me possible. I have value to me. And, I am the person whose opinion must matter most, because I am the only one who can possibly truly know me.

I am with me 24/7. There is no escaping from myself. I know every thought I have, every motivation, every dream, every failure. No one can make me feel 'not good enough' but me. I have achieved, I have survived, and I have thrived in my almost 52 years on the planet. By my own standards, I am good enough and then some.

By my own knowledge of who I was, am and strive to be, I am triumphant.

Beannú na déithe's n'aindhéithe ort !
("The blessings of the gods and the non-gods upon you".)

Thursday's child is a new series of blog posts where I examine what it means "to go far". I hope you'll join me in this exploration each week.