In the Mirror

asouthernmother
February 6, 2013

Two monks were on a pilgrimage. One day, they came to a deep river. At the edge of the river, a young woman sat weeping because she was afraid to cross the river without help. She begged the two monks to help her. The younger monk turned his back. The members of their order were forbidden to touch a woman.

But the older monk picked up the woman without a word and carried her across the river. He put her down on the far side and continued his journey. The younger monk came after him, scolding him and berating him for breaking his vows. He went on this way for a long time.

Finally, at the end of the day the older monk turned to the younger one. “I only carried her across the river. You have been carrying her all day.”
                                                                                     ~Zen 

How often do we carry things with us?  Things we should have let go of a long time ago.  We can carry people and feelings long beyond necessity.  Why is it so easy to hold on to the bad feelings and people, while often letting go of the right people and memories?  Pain can be a very tricky emotion and we often carry it for years.  If you aren’t careful pain can poison your soul, just as the influence of the wrong person can.  

The younger monk carried his anger about the older monk helping the woman all day.  What do you carry around that you should let go?  I carried distrust, hurt, and anger for too long following my brothers murder.  One day I looked in the mirror and I saw a scared, angry, and hopeless woman instead of the carefree, happy, and joyful person who stood there before his death.  

Someone once told me that you can’t let other peoples actions change who you are.  I did exactly that.  I was afraid to walk alone outside at night for fear that my stepfather (or anyone else) was waiting to get me.  I became distrustful of nearly everyone in my life.  I had trusted my stepfather.  We had developed a good stepfather, stepdaughter relationship.  We would watch the history channel, run errands, and I had helped at his market.  We shared holidays and chats about life.  How could I ever trust anyone else?  He took my brother from us in a very cruel and calculated way.  He sabotaged so many of my relationships with people he had never even met.  

The worst emotion was anger.  I was angry at him for taking Brandon, and I was angry at God for letting him.  I still can’t drive through the town where he lives because I honestly fear of what I might do if I saw him.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am incredibly protective, almost to a fault.  I will do anything to protect the people I care about, even if it means hurting myself in the long run.  I can still laugh over Brandon’s supposed “bar fight.”  We got into an argument over my niece and I punched him.  He had been making some poor decisions that I felt would negatively affect Alyssa.  We were arguing about her, and he said he didn’t give a damn.  Alyssa was my first niece and my first baby, those were “fighting words.”  I can shamefully say I punched my brother in the face and I can say he thankfully didn’t punch me back.  When everyone asked about the mark/bruise, he said he got into a bar fight.  I guess technically he was telling the truth, we had gotten into an argument outside of a bar.  

It took a long time for me to realize that I was continually letting my stepfather take things away from me.  He took Brandon, my trust, along with many other people and opportunities.  We should be careful of the baggage that we carry with us.  We can let experiences change you but you need to make sure they change you for better, not worse.  

He who stops being better, stops being good.
                                          ~Oliver Cromwell 

#MyLifeIn5Words

asouthernmother
January 30, 2013

It seems like many of my blog posts seem to be inspired by things I read on Twitter.  I saw the hashtag MyLifeIn5Words.  

Happy…. Grateful… Loved… Excited…. Hopeful 

At the moment, those five words seem to sum me up best.  I don’t know that I would have used those same five words a year ago and maybe not a few months ago.  I am finally starting to learn to cope with my brothers murder.  I know I will never truly get over it, but I have found ways to manage the anxiety and loss.  I think I am finally seeing my life with direction and purpose.  I feel that is largely in part to all of wonderful people I am surrounded by.  There are those I have known a lifetime and others barely a moment, but all have had a positive impact.  

Happy:
Adjective
  1. Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
  2. Having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with (a person, arrangement, or situation).
Synonyms
glad – fortunate – joyful – lucky – merry – cheerful
I am happy that I have a feeling of purpose, and that I am no longer consumed with anger and hate.  
Grateful:

Adjective
Feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.
Synonyms
thankful – appreciative – beholden
I am so very grateful to my family and friends so standing by me the last few years.  I know it hasn’t been easy and I was exhausting to deal with.  You are loved and appreciated more than you may ever know.  
Love:

Noun
An intense feeling of deep affection: “their love for their country”.

Synonyms

noun.   affection – fondness – darling – passion

I finally feel loved and I have built deep trust in several relationships.  I lost the feeling of being loved and my security in relationships following Brandon’s murder.  I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to truly trust anyone, and trust is paramount in any relationship.  


Excited:

Adjective

Very enthusiastic and eager.  

Synonyms
elicit, enkindle, evoke

I have so many exciting things happening in my life.  I finished a Tough Mudder in the fall (and holy cow was it tough, mentally and physically).  I have a few big races coming up and I want to run a full marathon by fall.  I love to watch my son grow and develop day by day into an independent, kind, and well-manner “little man.”  Bluegrass Junior Woman’s Club is always doing incredible things in our local community and I am excited to see what the future holds for our group.  My new friends at Shot@Life have inspired me already and I am looking forward to working with all of them.  

Hopeful:

Adjective
Feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.


Synonyms

promising – sanguine – up-and-coming
I feel like there are so many promising projects and opportunities just on the horizon.  I have both a mission and a purpose, I am not sure I had previously.  I am hopeful that the coming months and year bring more inspiration and healing.  
Happy Tuesday!  
XOXO
~Jess   



Leaving Harlan Alive

asouthernmother
January 25, 2013

 

You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive is one of my favorite songs performed by Brad Paisley (and I am still ticked he did not perform it the last time I saw him at Rupp Arena).  It has special meaning to me.  It is about the long and hard road that many coal miners in Harlan, Kentucky (and across this region) face.  I am proud to be a coal miners daughter, granddaughter, great granddaughter (and niece, better not forget my uncle Mike).  I was born because my grandfather left Harlan alive.  

Most of the nation became familiar with Harlan, Kentucky not from a Brad Paisley song but from the television show Justified.  Who doesn’t love a little US Marshall Raylan Givens?  Although Harlan and its residents aren’t portrayed in the most flattering light, it brought attention to an area I hold dear to my heart.  Nearly 13% of the employed population in Harlan works for the Coal industry.  They are plagued with the same problems that much of southeastern Kentucky is ridden with.  A lack of jobs, poverty, and drugs are just a few of the socioeconomic disadvantage which trouble a beautiful mountainous landscape.
 

I have the utmost respect for coal miners, especially those who work in some of the harshest conditions possible just to provide a basic existence for their families.  They often struggle day in and day out just to “make ends meet” and they never give up.  Mining isn’t a safe profession either.  I have heard the gossip down in the mining camps following an accident, and seen the worry consume them, hoping it wasn’t one of their own.  It was a realistic fear for many mining families, which often had grandfathers, fathers, brothers, siblings, cousins, etc. working in the same mine.  

Coal Miners memorial Harlan Kentucky


I can’t and won’t take sides in the great debate about the coal industry in Kentucky.  My grandfather suffers from Black Lung and melanoma, a lifetime in the mines is hard on the body.  Mining kept my family in existence.  Mining still helps sustain many families across the region.  Why would you take away the job openings of those willing to work?  Especially in counties such as Harlan where according to the US census bureau 31% of residents live below poverty level , which is double the poverty average for the entire state.  It is even more heartbreaking that half of those residents live on much, much less than poverty level income.  

Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”  

             Nelson Mandela 


I can remember as a child traveling the winding road up KY highway 119 once a month to visit my family in Harlan.  It was a long and often car sick ridden trip for a young child.  My great grandparents George Sr and Lucy Peace, and I believe their parents too are buried on a hillside in rural Harlan Kentucky.  They never left Harlan alive.  I have been back very few times since their death.  My grandfather left for another mining camp in Kay Jay, Kentucky, where he lives to this day.  I think the only time he left was for his tour in the Korean War.  His body weakened and damaged from years in the coal mines, but forever grateful that he provided a home for his family.  My dad worked very briefly in the mines, and we lived in rural southwest Virginia while he did.  He is now a successful barber in Knox County, Kentucky.  

My grandparents, George Jr. and Norma Logan Peace


I’m proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.  It isn’t often highly regarded a profession, but how many people sacrifice their health and safety to provide a very meager existence?  My grandfather isn’t a rich man by worldly means, but he worked hard, loves God, taught me to harm no other living creature (unless you plan to eat it) and is genuinely kind to all that he meets.  It isn’t be hard to be proud to be a coal miners (grand) daughter when you have a grandfather like him, and especially since he left Harlan alive!