It was a comment on the radio today that got me thinking about how we either have our lives chosen for us, or we get to choose our own paths.
The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca postulated that that while we can’t choose our parents, we do have the ability to choose whose children we will be.
Moving forward about 2000 years, the American writer Ralph Ellison stated "While one can do nothing about choosing one’s relatives one can,as artist, choose one’s ancestors." (Shadow and Act [1964]. The World and the Jug)
While normally these ideas are about parenting, and thinking about how you parents were, using that as an excuse for whatever type of parent is easiest with the corollary being why don’t you think about who you wish your parents were.
For me I started thinking further back - about the ancestors I choose to follow - how their values impact on my life and how their decisions have shaped me.
I am blessed to have great parents who have taught me so much. However, I now also get to choose whose footsteps you’re going to follow in, and in so doing, what kind of influences I will have on those who follow me.
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