“One of the worst things my father tried to do, the worst thing he thought and did, was to make me into a younger version of him. There was much good in him to emulate, many great characteristics to embody and personalize. But that he thought that I should not be more than he was, to not excel and supersede him was a testament to the shortness of his vision. It is unfortunately his worst choice when it came to raising me. If he had only seen that he could have helped me be more than he was, better, more effective, to reach higher and farther, he could have seen what he valued grow and advance beyond his reach. Instead, because he really did believe in his limitations on a deep and visceral level, he imposed them on me with a vengeance. That I could think outside of his box was a threat to him. That I could aspire to achieve something greater than him was an insult to him. He needed to limit me and contain me because he could not imagine that I would be greater than he. This is truly sad. Truly sad because he would have been so much more if he were the wind beneath my wings rather than the shears that trimmed them. “ Chris Lawrence 30 November 2014
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:45:42 +0000