Family Makes You Rich Or Poor — What About Good?
A little reflection on the impact family has on all of us. I know what mine has given me above all else: goodness.
It has been over a decade that I have been extremely aware of the impact family has on one’s life. I know that may sound silly to most, since the importance of family is celebrated all the time. I don’t mean exactly that, though. I mean how the person we are depends — for better or worse — on how we were raised by those who raised us. It’s not just values and principles; it’s something bigger, something essential, something I believe we frequently confuse with instinct and genetics.
I think something as essential and existentially defining as our demeanour, as our personality, as our inclinations, has its origin right after birth. How your father reacts to bad news and to good news, how your mother behaves when she praises or scolds you, how your parents treat each other… how violent or peaceful they are, how happy or angry… all of this determines how we will turn out in life.
Of course, there is more. With our family, come social status and geographical privilege, or lack thereof. Our worldview depends greatly on how we’ve been brought up. For instance, I grew up in a working class family that never lacked food or…