“You have to know where you came from before you know where you are going.

This week I listened to an interview on CBC (the Canadian Broadcast Corporation) with one of the founders of Peace by Chocolate a successful chocolate-making company in Nova Scotia. The conversation was about the rebel uprising in Syria and its future now that Bashir Assad, the heinous dictator who has left this beautiful country in ruins and murdered millions of its people. He has escaped to Russia the only country that would protect such a person. As the interview was nearing its end, Tareq Hadhad, whose father was a famous chocolate maker in the city of Damascus had his factory completely demolished by Assad’s thugs in 2012. Tareq’s father and other family members fled to Lebanon for three years where they lived in a refugee camp until they were finally invited to come to Canada under the sponsorship of a dedicated group from the small town of Antigonish in Nova Scotia. As the conversation came to a close, Tareq shared with us the quotation at the top of this post given to him and the Hadhad family by his grandmother. To find out more about the success of Peace By Chocolate and their plans for the future you can click on the link below. peacebychocolate.ca. However, be prepared! You might want to buy some of their chocolate to help in their quest to promote peace throughout the world.

The above quote by Mr. Hadhad’s grandmother struck a chord with me. Now that I am retired and in my 70’s, I have had more time to reflect on my past and where I am today. His grandmother’s words are absolutely true. How we handle our past on our life’s journey as a human is the foundation for our future success. Knowing and accepting our past whether it was good or not is to me like building a house with a firm foundation. If it isn’t a strong one it could crumble causing us to get stuck somewhere along the way. The house with a firm foundation will outlast the poorly built ones, and be a blessing to those who live in it. Likewise for us humans lucky to have a family who provided us with a firm foundation, we had the privilege of all if not some of the following:

• Being part of a strong family unit.
• Feeling loved.
• Feeling safe.
• Taught to respect our elders.
• To be responsible for our actions.
• To tell the truth
• And possibly more.

However, what if we didn’t have a firm foundation? Does this mean we will never achieve what we truly want to do with our life and never fulfill our dreams? Of course not. Many people were brought up under difficult circumstances, pursued their dreams, and achieved success. Think Elvis Presley and Marilyn Munroe. Both followed their dreams and gained fame and fortune. However, they were unable to handle their success which ended in early deaths for both. Tragedies like this can be traced back to coming from homes that in some way didn’t have a firm foundation for them to thrive in.

I am now racking my brain for those who may have been brought up in a house with a flimsy foundation who nevertheless became famous for what he/she was good at doing and went on to manifest a good life until the day they died. The first one who comes to mind is Wayne Dyer. He was born into a family where his dad was an alcoholic who deserted his family leaving his mother and siblings to fend for themselves. He spent most of his childhood in orphanages and was eventually adopted by a nice middle-class family. Despite his unsettled childhood, he went on to write more than forty self-help books and became a popular motivational speaker on PBS.

Many more celebrities grew up poor but nevertheless were very successful at carving out a prosperous living for themselves as well as a seemingly balanced life. Dolly Parten, Oprah Winfrey, Celine Dion and Shania Twain to name a few had to claw their way up to the top of the ladder with nothing more than good luck and a strong drive to succeed. Comparing them to other actors who came from rich backgrounds, I found it interesting that those who grew up poor remained frugal and spent their money wisely even after making lots of it and they also had good marriages. Many who were brought up rich gained success but didn’t fare as well in the marriage department.

Writing this post has reminded me that success in life is not based on what you do but more on who you are. It’s also got nothing to do with being rich. Sometimes the rich turn out to be more in the failure category especially if they were not brought up in a stable household and given a strong foundation. I was brought up by various relatives and one home which today would be called a foster home. There was not a lot of money in some cases but enough to get by. I learned to be frugal which has stood me in good stead. I have fulfilled my childhood dream of traveling to foreign countries giving me the best education about life and myself. Admittedly, I sometimes worry about whether I will have enough money to see me through to the end of my life. I know much of this worrying is coming from the state of our world these days but I am working on how to leave the worry behind and live my life as best I can. Quotes like the one above from Mrs. Hadhad, practicing mindfulness, keeping active with volunteering, still travelling although not as much, and connecting with my family are keeping my eyes and body moving ahead.

One last thing before ending this post, I want to thank the Hadhad family for all the good work they are doing with their Peace By Chocolate sales and their contribution to causes that are focussed on promoting peace in our world. I would also like to thank them for inspiring me write this post.