Episode 3: Seeds To Break The Cycle

In this heartwarming episode of "Conversation at Sunrise," Lori Lee delves into the profound influence of kindness and the unsung heroes who shape our lives. Revisiting the theme of worthiness, Lori shares personal stories of three remarkable women who played a pivotal role in her childhood, offering her a sanctuary from a turbulent home life. Their unwavering support and love helped her envision a brighter future and break generational cycles of hardship. Tune in to discover the importance of human connection, the power of hope, and the transformative impact of small acts of kindness. Challenge yourself to spread kindness daily and become a hero in someone else's story. Join the conversation and be inspired to make a difference.

Transcript

Lori Lee: 0:08

Hi, welcome back to another episode of Conversation at Sunrise. If this is your first time joining us, hi, my name is Lori Lee, and every week I like to get together, talk about some topics that are very dear to my heart, and see how I can positively impact you. Right now my whole focus is on serving, serving others. So, today, I wanted to delve deeper into, um, a topic, excuse me, a topic that we had touched upon last week. I had mentioned that there were, last week's topic was worthiness, and I had mentioned how there were three women in my life who played a positive role. They were the mothers of my three childhood friends, and we are still friends today. And though I don't get to see these women very often, I do. ask about how they're doing always. Um, and I'm not sure these three women really know what an impact they have had on my life. They certainly know that I have cared about them through the years, but I'm not sure if they realize what a positive role model they really were. Um, they really impacted my life both in my adolescent years as well as my teenage years. As we talked last week, my house was marred with You know, abuse, alcoholism and poverty, and they always welcomed me into their home. It didn't. They didn't judge me. It didn't matter what my circumstances were. It didn't matter who my parents were or where I came from. I just felt so loved every time I went to one of their homes, and I have such precious memories. From each of them, whether it was after a day of sledding, being out in the cold, you know, having them make a cup of hot chocolate, you know, for their daughter and myself or playing board games, constant, you know, always welcoming, welcoming me for sleepovers as a child. If you come from that type of household family where there's a lot of arguing, you know, Lot of anxiety, not knowing how your day would go, how your night would go. I would long, long for the weekends that I could maybe go do a sleep over at one of my friend's houses. It was rare, if at all, they would sleep at my house. I do think there was a couple of times that, that they did, but it definitely wasn't as comfortable as me going to their house, so I just wanted to dedicate this episode. To these three women and to anybody, anybody who is a positive role model in any fashion to a child, a teenager, a young adult, anyone. So these three women literally changed the narrative of my life. They, I am 100 percent sure they prevented me from going down a very destructive path. I think we had talked about last episode that the alcoholism and the abuse wasn't just It was my parents, it was generational, the poverty, the depression, and these women were the first glimpse I had into what a loving parent maybe should look like. So they certainly planted seeds in me to know that what I was experiencing at home was not normal. You know, I looked, I looked forward. Anytime I went over there, they welcomed me. They, they listened to me. They would ask me questions about me, where in my household, you know, we rarely talked. We were always told to shut up. We were told we were, we were stupid, which is probably one reason why I hate that word so much. And if my children watch this podcast, they'll know growing up, I hated that word, wouldn't allow it in my house. It didn't matter how it was being used in a sentence. I just wouldn't allow it in my house. So. Now they may understand why. So their, their influence actually went beyond, you know, went beyond acceptance of me. Like I said, they, they gave me a glimpse of what a mother should be. And they definitely planted a seed in me that I wanted to break this generational, this generational situation that my family was in. And I would literally, I would, I would dream. Whether as I was falling asleep at night or in the middle of the day, I would dream of having quote unquote a perfect family. I'm not sure there is such a thing. But back then, what I thought to be a perfect family, you know, just having parents that loved me, that were concerned about me, that worried about me, it would probably be called visualizing today. But back then, I just, it was just daydreaming to me again. Those are the thoughts, I would dream these thoughts before going to bed at night. So, and I actually lived in that world. That gave me comfort. I lived, I lived in the world that was in my head to get me through some rough days and some rough nights. I'm not sure these women really know how much they impacted my life. They certainly know I cared about them. And I ask about them all the time when I do get together with my friends, but So I, I do. Hopefully they'll, they'll see this podcast, um, or hear this podcast if you're just listening to it. And I hope they know how much I love them and how grateful I am for them. So just to bring this out a little bit, let me ask, is there somebody in your life that has impacted you in a positive way? As far as, you know. They really pointed you in a certain direction as a kid, you know, maybe they brought you comfort as these three women brought me comfort. This room, these three women brought me hope. I'm not sure I realized that back then, but as I'm sitting here talking today, I think that's what it was is they they gave me hope that it didn't have to be that way, um, that it's always been. Or is there somebody in your life today that you could positively impact. I don't think we really understand sometimes the importance of connection, you know, the people connection. And especially as, you know, those, those, um, those, those young years of ages, you know, one, one to 12 or 16 or whatever, whatever, Those developmental years are, I think it's so important that people feel that they are loved and that there's connection and that there's hope. I think that is something the world is definitely lacking today is hope. And I do want to spend a whole episode on maybe how each one of us can put a little more, a little bit more hope into the world. But that human connection, to feel like you matter, I don't think people really understand the importance of that. You know, it's, it's not, and I think I talked last time about how it, you know, I realized that as I had checked all the boxes for success, that it didn't make me feel happy inside. Just as I had to learn over the last, you know, you know, several decades that I am not my circumstances as far as, you know, the way I was raised and brought up and my parents and whatnot. Um, because even though that was so long ago, you still take it with you. But I've also come to realize, though I'm not those circumstances, neither am I the success that I've had, whether it's with my corporate job, whether it's with my, my e commerce business. Um, you know, I have a successful marriage, you know, wonderful children, but again, I'm not that either, right? So I think that's something we need to pursue a little bit more and talk about, but who in your life can you positively impact? You know, to have a kind word, I don't, you know, everybody's always in such a rush these days. And. Sometimes I think we forget how much a kind word, or just to pause and have patience with somebody, what it could really mean to them. That may not be a lifelong impactful, you know, um, circumstance, but it certainly can impact their day, right? And then they, in turn, can impact somebody else's day. I think we all need to try to be a little bit kinder, um, and a little bit more patient, whether it's with our children or spouse. And I heard, and I don't remember where I heard it, but the word HOPE, and like I said, I do want to have a whole podcast on this, but HOPE, H O P E stands for Help One Person Every Day. And whenever I heard that, I think I heard it like a year or so ago. I have it on my wall in my office and that is something that I try and do every day. And it's something as simple as, um, when I'm at the grocery store saying something kind to, you know, the checkout person or the bagger. I mean it could be something as simple as, I like your nail polish or you really bagged that really nicely. It doesn't matter where you are, there are kind words that you can say to somebody. And that kindness will, um, will just have a positive impact. And I don't care how small it is. So just as a reminder this week, um, like we just talked about, you never know how you can impact somebody. And I'd like to actually have a challenge this week. And I'd like to hear about it in the, in the comments below. Just list one thing, one thing that you've done. For somebody. And it doesn't have to be this grand gesture, right? It doesn't have to be, you know, this constant attention. It could be very, very simple. And most of the time, if you just say something kind to somebody, or ask them a question, most people love to talk about themselves. And it really makes them feel good when they, when they think somebody else is interested in them. So, challenge you this week, every day, for the next seven days, do one thing that's kind. Say one thing that is kind every day to somebody, or just, again, a kind gesture to somebody. And please let me hear about it. And just before we close, I would like to dedicate this, um, this episode to not only those three women. that had a huge impact, um, and set me, set me on a, on a good path. But to anybody that, you know, is, has a positive impact on somebody else, especially a child, you know, it's an, you're, you're the unsung hero for sure. And you may never hear a thank you. I'm not really sure you need to. But just know the importance. Take it from, you know, take it from me that to this day, you know, 50 years later, I still think of these women and how they've impacted me and I feel so blessed. Um, so thank you. If these three women watch this, episode or listen to this episode. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you. So until our next, uh, conversation at sunrise, please know that you are enough just the way you are, just the way you are, and you are truly the hero of your own story. So make it a good story. I love you guys.