Have you ever wondered on occasion how in the world you can be related to someone in your family? Where every time you get around your cousins you start singing "one of these things is not like the other..."?
(I'm usually humming it to myself). Or you go to a family reunion and wonder if you missed some memo about it being a retro theme party and you were supposed to wear clothes from any era other than the current one? Of course in my family, we apparently like to mix certain styles with certain eras, as I have an Uncle that likes to wear western shirts with penny loafers. (And to be honest, it actually fits his personality well!) My personal experience has been that Jeff Foxworthy's well-known routine immediately starts resounding through my head - "If you consider The Clapper one of the best gifts you've ever gotten.... you might be a redneck" and so on. Well if you haven't had to wonder about the relativity of relatives, then you must not have any... But while I've been marveling at some of the special traits of my family members, I have started realizing that it really has nothing to do with our gene pool. I mean, it might make sense to think that because we're coming from the same people, the same "blood", we would have similar ways of doing things and compatible styles and interests. But what's true for the Brady Bunch doesn't necessarily apply everywhere else! Being kin doesn't automatically mean you are akin.
So here's my theory. I like to think we all get an internal backpack of gear when we come into the world. Call it a figurative survival kit of sorts maybe.
And I imagine that it's all pretty much the same gear, but the difference is not everybody always gets the stuff in the same condition. For example, while I might have a brand new flashlight in my kit, my rain poncho might be full of holes and tears. (Believe me, I'm pretty sure I know some people who started off missing a few tent poles!) But you get my meaning. And as all things are, it's a learning process to even figure out what condition your stuff is in to begin with. Unfortunately, we usually find out their condition after experiencing a situation where they didn't work so well. (Trust me, you don't wanna find out the hard way that your "matches" weren't waterproof after all...) And then we all know there are those who don't know HOW to use their survival kits appropriately. Always shooting off their flare guns or using up all the band aids on a little scratch. (And you can always tell who hasn't read the manual.)
So I guess I'm saying that I think there are those who make the absolute best of what they get, who learn how to repair and add to and replenish their kits. And there are those who are forever displeased with the supplies they were given, and never seem to make it out of the woods.
Doesn't matter what kind of blood or genetics run through you, we're all going to experience our own life expedition differently depending on what we do or don't take with us through the years and more importantly, what we've learned from using our "supplies" and watching others use theirs. So really, I'd prefer that the catch phrase went "Only the clever survive". Here's hoping your compass is always pointing true north.
