It’s how we get the most out of life.
In life we tend to rush through our days and do not embrace our surroundings. It is within our surroundings where we discover what life is all about. The people we meet on the street, all have their own experiences that shape them. It’s time to slow down; stop running, stumbling or sneaking around. To walk through life is intentional and allows us get to know the people who live in the world around us.
My older daughter nudges me out the door. It softly slams behind me, gently easing me onto the street.
I head down the street, alone, and allow the warm sun on the cool winter day to comfort me as I step deeper into the world.
I’m on my way to visit my youngest daughter. She lives a thirty-minute walk from her sister. They live in the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia, center city.
I continue to walk; infectious laugher guides me down the street. Two robust ladies exit their vehicle, squeezed tight into a parking spot. We exchange pleasantries.
I walk on as a young woman approaches me, wearing her yoga attire and running with her dog. She avoids eye contact and is unapproachable.
I’m taking my time, soaking in each encounter. Some people friendly, others preoccupied, each responding to life as it happens.
I pause in front of a church; the gospel music spills out onto the street. Two elderly women join me on the sidewalk and wish me a blessed day.
I quickly walk past a bar that is overflowing, when a man stumbles out onto the sidewalk. He cusses at me under his breath.
I’m picking up my pace, the neighborhoods change, while the people remain the same. All experiencing life on the streets.
I slow down to acknowledge an elderly man sitting on his front porch stoop, he says, “Ma’am you have a beautiful smile.” My heart is happy.
I round the corner and a man is creeping in the shadows, he yells out to me, “I like yo’ legs.” I start to seethe with anger.
My stride gets longer as I seek out the comfort of my younger daughter. I eventually get to her house; she opens her door waving me in.
The previous story shares my experience walking through the city, it signifies the transition of sending our kids out into the world to live life because then they can grow from their experiences. Living life outside the bubble offers a look into how other people do life. These experiences will help them appreciate life the way it’s meant to be lived.
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Walk through life to get the most out of life.
Earlier this year I visited with my daughters in center city, Philadelphia and got to experience city living. For eight years my older daughter has lived, gone to school and now works in the city. Now it’s my younger daughter’s time. She lives in the city attending graduate school and working. I support my daughters living in a metropolitan area because they will get the most out of life.
City living represents a fast-paced environment. When life passes by, we are not taking the time to get to know the world that surrounds us. It is important to not just live in a new environment, but to slow down and experience it.
Brief History of My Walk Through Life
We raised our daughters in small town America. The same town my husband lived the majority of his life and a neighboring town from where I grew up. Suburbia is not a bad place to live because it offers a sense of community and security. The issue isn’t where we raise our children, but not having the opportunity to live outside where we are raised.
The environment we grow up in shapes us, so if we don’t experience any other way to live, we lack understanding of the world and its people that surround us. Sending our grown children to experience life outside their hometown and in a different environment not only helps them to grow into their adult selves but have compassion for others.
Living fifty years in the same community did not allow me to see life outside my narrow field of vision. I wasn’t able to see life through a different lens to understand the world around me. Getting stuck on my world view impacts my growth. When really what I need to do is to start living!
The City of Brotherly Love
Philadelphia is known as The City of Brotherly Love.
The name Philadelphia comes from the Greek philos meaning friendly or love and adelphos meaning brother.
Walking down the streets in Philadelphia, through different neighborhoods, I was feeling the love. We spend much time judging communities around us without experiencing them. Not everyone I cross paths with on my walk is welcoming. Exposing ourselves to our surroundings helps us to understand life as it happens in the world we live in.
William Penn the Founder
William Penn, a member of the religious sect, Quakers, founded Philadelphia. Quakers, known as friends, is representative of their faith. It is a city that was built on Christian values. Their values espouse peace from war, simple living, and oppose slavery. It was Penn’s intention to create a city where living cohesively and peacefully with one’s neighbors is a standard for living.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
1 Peter 3:8 ESV
Many parents fear sending their children out into the world, because they think it will upset the values imposed upon them. The key to successful parenting is that if the children are raised with a solid foundation, one based on Biblical principle, they will embrace the differences of the world that surrounds them.
When we develop a relationship with Jesus, we are to live as Jesus did. Jesus did not isolate Himself from those who were different, but chose to walk with them. This concept should be applied to how we choose to live in a world that is so vastly different than our own.
We don’t all need to agree and may choose to live life differently, but it’s not our place to judge how others choose to live their lives. It is more important to seek compassion and understanding.
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