Lessons from the history of others

I received a certain response to a recent blog just last week. It was powerfully written. I would like to share it with you, and to share the lesson it teaches us all.




Blasing Sharon June 17 at 10:44pm

A comment on your Blog:


Reminds me of my Mom. One of her favorite sayings was : "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" We were very poor. Our family life was a constant flow of love, joy, and adventure...so we were thus, very wealthy.


Mother baked bread every 3 days (always). Need pie...or Strawberry shortcake..we kids were sent into the woods and paths for berries (Blackberries,Blueberries, Raspberries) all wild and the most delicious wild Strawberries. We lived in far northern Wisconsin ..in swampy area with marvelous rich pastures and farms tucked in between the bogs.


As I weeded one of my gardens tonight and found a large amount of Pigweed, I recalled that Pigweed is very good to eat...kind of like sweet Spinach...a childhood memory of resourcefulness. Dad trout fishing,,pan fishing...find wild honeycombs, trapping for a living and the time in 1950 when we had no money..then a fur buyer arrived and bought Dad's wild mink pelt for $29.00. That would pay our $10.00 rent..bring Santa to our home...fill the larder with flour, eggs and a meal with meat for Christmas......


My Mom was a seamstress..she was an absolute genius of a seamstress. Peoole would give us their used clothing....she woudl rip it all aprt, launder it and then make the spiffiest clothing from it for us 3 children..


We did not have a car...just a small 3 room house maybe 600 Sq ft at the most...we were so happy...invented games each night...Mom sitting by lamplite..always stitching..me as a small child pondering the fact that it was either Mom or the lamp giving the glow to our tiny living room. Dad reading stories to us and listening to the radio...


Necessity is the Mother of Invention....Now my children..all 5 of them (ranging in age from 46 to 26)...savor the legacy that my parents gave us all.


Sharon Baldwin-Blasing



That is a beautiful story. Times were tough, but these memories serve a greater purpose than that of conveying hardships. I often think about this when I see the young of today, I wouldn't wish these hardships on anyone, but I do believe something is lost when a child grows without knowing stories like the one Sharon so graciously shared with us.


I think of these stories as a type of glue that holds families together through their common struggle. Growing up in this way, you inherently know that you belong. We are by nature social creatures.


Many growing up today will never have the experiences expressed by previous generations. The expressions of the previous generations related to the younger generations can be seasoned with love and wisdom, if conveyed in the right manner.


I encourage the sharing of these tales, so the young may keep in perspective the experiences of their own generation. Open the dialog with those older or younger than yourself. Keep the dialog open in both directions, and you will receive much more than a simple relating of tales. You will find the opportunity to bond in ways you never imagined.


Often times we meet people, and we have absolutely no idea what struggles they have overcome in their life. Every struggle overcome carries with it a gold mine in wisdom. Seek to discover this gold in everyone you meet. Seek to find the common thread between you and that other person.


Everybody you meet is both a teacher and a student. This is because eveybody you meet has experiences unique to them. Always kee this in mind. Always be open to hear their song. And of course, be gracious enough to sing your song as well.





Jeffrey Brandt

Author of Close Your Eyes to Find Your Way: A Guide to Discovering Your Higher Self.


The above comment was reproduced by permission of Sharon Baldwin-Blasing

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