My last post discussed Jenny’s first attempt to give up her fight. But she wasn’t yet ready to let go. She was still fighting against her past.
Fast forward about four years, and she is now finally ready. Circumstances have changed. She needs help. By admitting to herself that she needs help, that her son needs help, and that they no longer can do it alone … she is ready to give up her fight.
So what kept her fight alive for so long? Pride. I can do it by myself. I don’t need anyone else to help me. I don’t need you. Pride is defined as an inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity.
But she did need help. She was sick and going to die. She had a virus we later recognized as AIDS. She finally asked the man who loved her for the help she needed.
Little Forrest also needed help. He needed his father. He needed a parent to care for him when his mother would no longer be with him.
By accepting that they couldn’t do it alone, Jenny gave herself and Little Forrest the gift of a better future.
Jenny’s apology opened the door to a future that was no longer constrained by the past.
Creating a new future can really be as simple as an making an apology.
Being ready to make the apology is the challenge. Being willing to accept 100% personal responsibility is the hard part.
When Jenny had only a few options left, she made the right choice.
Why do we often wait until our backs are against the wall before making the right choice?
Why is giving up the past so difficult?
Why does pride keep us locked in our past?
Next Blog Title: Why Bullying Doesn’t Work in 2011
Next Blog Date: May 19, 2011