It’s All Your Past Experiences That Make You Who You Are
Everything you do helps create the person you are.
Hi there!
“Can you read a bit more?” Marguerite, a bedbound frail woman in her late 70s, asked me. “You have a nice reading voice.”
Marguerite’s son was a new friend of mine, both of us having moved far away from our homes to a small town in Tennessee.
I couldn’t tell the sweet old woman how uncomfortable I was sitting there by her hospital bed. The heavy scent coming from her catheter bag, and the heat from the wood stove pushing the room temp north of 90, made me feel nauseated. My heavy wool sweater over my poplin button down only made things worse.
I was ready to go, to run to the freedom and fresh air outside. But Marguerite’s request was a simple one. Although I didn’t know it then, it was a life-changing moment.
"You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive."
- Maya Angelou
Scott Ninneman publishes two newsletters. The Sunday All Things Bipolar Newsletter (off Substack) features the newest content about bipolar life. The Speaking Bipolar Positivity Club Newsletter shares inspirational stories three times a week for a positive mindset.
Overcoming Fear
So, this is embarrassing, but growing up, I was afraid of old people. There wasn’t much longevity in my family, so I had little exposure to people who were much older than me.
Many of my relatives died in their early 50s, so when I met someone who was in their 70s or 80s, I didn’t know how to act. When I met Marguerite, I was 21, and emotional maturity was a long way off. I had yet to learn that people were people no matter how old they were.
It took a few more years to grasp that lesson, but reading to my friend’s mother was the start.
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