Words of Wisdom – Yuan Jur
When I was young, the world I lived in was defined by inflexible corridors of middle class 60 & 70’s Australian structure. I did not let that define me. The message my school environment sent was, don’t aspire; that’s only for the smart kids. You’re not one of them. I did not let that define me. I was a good sportsman, but not at a sport that was rugby, soccer or cricket, at the time the primary sports focus in this country. We lived in a middle class multi cultural community, underpinned by racial narrows and fear of anything different. I did not let that define me. There were strong unionist attitudes (my father was a coal minor) and fundamentally two choices in politics that were never explained very well. We were called the lucky country, but where I grew up, that meant only for a select few. I spoke only English, but had many European and Asian friends, but good role models were in very short supply. I did not let that define me. I was told I had a flair for telling a good story ‘Now, if I could just learn to write and spell, I might get somewhere,’ they said. I did not let that define me either.
By the time I was 50 yrs old, I’d traveled to Asia, had two wonderful children, who’ve became inspirations and successful adults to be proud of, I’d become a Buddhist scholar, spoke the Chinese language to an advanced level, was a master of Chinese martial arts, beaten two severe strokes, paralysis and gotten past chronic dyslexia and partial vision impairment to become a fiction author. I’d written the 1st three sagas of my #Citadel7Superverse series (now a multi Award winning series) and more.
We are all greater than the sum of our parts, it’s what we do with that greatness that defines us. Be the best you, that you can be, let that define you, family is defined by heart and actions not by blood, make choices with an open mind and stop for no one, leave the naysayers in the vacuum of the past.
