Farrah Rudd: Growth

I’ve learned a great deal about growth in my life and especially over the last few months. Hence not hearing from me for a month. And I certainly don’t mean growing UP because I think we all know I am never going to be over 5’. ;-)

In the past couple of years I’ve experienced a growing that I didn’t see coming but I needed it. Where I was in my 20’s physically, emotionally, relationally, etc was certainly not going to bring much to my 40’s without growth & change. I got to the point in the last couple of months where I was at a crossroads in my life. I’d either welcome the change and growth or stay what I felt like was “stuck”. I felt like I was living the life others wanted me to live but I wasn’t living true to myself or what I wanted to live. I was making choices based on fear. Living in the “what if” emotion of fearing growth. BUT I made the tough decision and decided I wanted to make decisions based on where I wanted to be not where I was. That’s when, in my opinion, life happened friends. Growth happened. And I will say I am proud of myself for doing that. I am happier today than I was just a mere 2 months ago.

A couple of questions to ask of ourselves:

Do we know what it looks like to be growing in our lives, whether that be spiritually, mentally, physical or relationally. If I were to say to you I have grown so much in my walk with Christ (for instance) would you know what that meant? Do you personally welcome growth or do you want to stay in the place all the time….. ?

Some may think of growth as change. I found this to be true when talking to others while I was considering this as my topic. As a whole I found most of us don’t want change. But I believe whole heartedly we can’t grow without changing something. I am growing in my relationship with my mother which takes a tremendous amount of desire and work on both of our ends. Her and I can both agree in order to go from where we were to where we want to be is going to require growth and change.

Think of a flower for instance: the growth as the season goes on causes it to grow. Upward, outward, from weak to strong, different colors, shapes, sizes but also some grow to protect themselves. Did you know a tree called a honey locust? The prevailing theory is these trees evolved thorns millions of years ago to prevent mastodons — large mammals that look like mammoths — from eating the bark, according to a 2008 NPR report by Robert Krulwich. The beauty of this is that the tree didn’t always feel it needed protection. Hence: growth.

In the end it’s our choice: Do you want to stay where you are or grow from it? If you’re happy - I applaud that. If you aren’t, well; that’s another story. What can you do about it? I think it’s important to know It’s called growth, not regret.

Growth: growing, maturation, development, ontogeny , ontogenesis(noun) (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level.

Regret: the emotion of wishing one had made a different decision in the past, because the consequences of the decision were unfavorable. Regret is related to perceived opportunity. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard to action versus inaction, and in regard to self-control at a particular age.

I look forward to hearing from you as I always keep my columns a discussion, not a flat piece of writing. If we continue to communicate we can evolve, grow, and change together. Even in the hard times. Let me know how I can help friends.

More News from Franklin

• ODOT Now Spending $10 Million to Clean Up Roadsides ODOT crews have picked up 89,000 bags of trash so far this year.
• Obituaries Connected To Warren County April 22, 2024 Obits for Warren County Ohio