It's 100% nature and 100% nurture

The Daily Drip

Here's a fun thought for your Saturday:

What if I told you that if you had a certain gene, you'd be more likely to get divorced?

What if I told you that if you had a certain gene, you'd be more likely to be religious?

What if I told you that if you had a certain experience as a child, you'd be more likely to do drugs?

What if I told you that if you had a certain experience as a child, you'd be less likely to get a well-paying job?

All of these things are true. I could tell you the genes or experiences that I'm talking about--but that's not the point.

My point is that we often like to go about our lives believing that we alone are in control of our destiny and that everyone has free will so anything that happens is just a product of what we've decided to do with our lives.

I'm not saying that life is all fate, go back and read those sentences again and realize that I'm using words like "likely" not "definitely."

My point is that there are many factors that play into who we are today and who we will become. Some of them are in our control and some of them aren't.

The more we realize this about ourselves, the more we might be able to see it in others and be tolerant of their mistakes and trespassings.

The more we understand that we are all part of the same machine that influences us, the more we might be able to forgive each other and ourselves.

It's Saturday.

It's a great day to go out there and help people.