Generational Patterns

I once gave a talk.

Well, I gave it more than once. I contract with LDS Social Services which I LOVE to do and they had me and a senior missionary talk at three wards on one Sunday. It was exhausting but I was with the most awesome missionary, Elder Te'o, who lit up the room at each sacrament meeting. There was a visceral change in the room when he got up and spoke. I wish I would've blogged about that. . .

So I gave the same talk three times that Sunday and have just had cause of late to think more about the talk and especially the issue of generational patterns that I addressed.

As a therapist and a person, I do believe we are all products of generational patterns as well as our own agency.

Those may be patterns of low self esteem or depression, addiction, abandonment and neglect. Or patterns of work ethic, honesty, integrity, and insight.

Chances are we each embody a mix of these patterns since nobody is perfect yet.

And I truly believe that these patterns may be magnified in our lives right now so that we have the opportunity, through our agency, to clear the negative ones and they will then have no place in the lives of those that come after us. I believe if we choose out of clearing negative patterns, they will be magnified even more in our children so that they will take notice and have the same opportunity to use their agency to let them go.

With those patterns that are positive, we reap blessings and rewards and if we choose into sustaining and perpetuating these patterns, they will also be magnified for our children.

Like I said, I have been thinking A LOT about this issue lately and what triggered my thinking this time was a post written by Patria Weston-Lee.

Patria is a complicated person. She was a model, graduated from an ivy league school, and is a self-proclaimed feminist. She's also as LDS as they come, in practice and legacy. Which makes her awesome to so many people but I think a bit confusing to others. Including me.

She's super smart and insightful and that's the non-confusing part for me. Where I got confused is that her depth of compassion for and understanding of complication that is far beyond her years. This understanding became more pronounced as our friendship developed. . . and this is also where I was able to see the obvious generational pattern [magnified] that I and many in this community of Ko'olau, benefit from.

Patria seems to have a deep understanding of issues impacting the indigenous of Hawai'i.

And Edward Partridge once lived in Laie. Who was Edward Partridge in relation to Patria, Laie, and Hawaii? Click here.

This will continue and get even more interesting tomorrow when I've had a good night's rest. . .