Life Force

We can explain a lot about the creation of life at a very basic and cellular level: how the sperm and egg come together to create another being, what causes the embryo to grow into a fetus, what causes fetal development, what causes the birth process to start. We can trace all of it back to hormones or cellular processes, but what causes that first spark, that first push for life? Before the sperm and egg join, what causes them to even try to find each other? What pushes "go" on all of the processes that are necessary to create a new life, a new person? What motivation is driving the sperm and the egg to look for each other?

Similarly, what causes sea turtles to immediately upon climbing out of their eggs buried in the sand to run for the ocean? What causes salmon to swim miles upstream? These are examples where many don't make it, but the turtles, the salmon, the sperm, and the egg keep going with relentless motivation. What causes that?

Instinct? Probably, but then what causes instinct?

Mother Nature? The Force? Karma? The Universe? God? Buddha? Allah?

What is that force to go on, to keep going, to create life?

We each have our own explanation rooted in religion, values, morals, experiences, and upbringing, but there is most definitely a life force, a drive to live, that is both unexplainable and undeniable.

It seems clear to me that this is a plain, straight forward truth: There is a greater force involved.

I don't understand why the 7.6 billion people on this planet cannot at least agree on that - there is most definitely a greater force or power involved that fuels instinct, that powers the motivation to live and to create life.

So how does this relate to education and parenting?

Suicide.

If this undeniable life force exists, then how are some people left with no option other than suicide? Is their instinct to live erased by lack of hope or lack of faith in the future? Can depression literally erase the innate instinct to go on? It must be so.

As parents and educators, we must first recognize people overwhelmed with despair and then put in place interventions that will clear their vision so that they can see hope and a future. We must find a way to help them get back in touch with their primal instincts to survive. So, how? I do not believe that answer lies solely in medication, perhaps it lies in appropriate psychotherapy or religion, but where I believe it really resides is in people showing they care. It sounds like a little thing that many believe will not make the impact

necessary, but I believe it can. Referring back to an earlier post, "The Power of Positive Reinforcement" where I challenge everyone to use positive reinforcement more frequently, to look for an opportunity to thank or praise someone at least once each day. Positive reinforcement has the power to change the world. Many other blogs reiterate these thoughts in responding rather than reacting and modeling how to live with grace and gratitude. It is a common thread among the blog posts.

Think of these things as well:

• The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lao Tzu

• The parable of the starfish where a man walking on the beach tosses one starfish at a time back into the ocean, and another states, "You can never save them all." To which the response is, "Made a difference in the life of that one."

• The Making a Difference Foundation where the mission is to make a difference in the lives of others, one person at a time, by helping them acquire the most basic needs: food, housing, encouragement, and opportunity.

Personally, I am more in touch with suicide and how it impacts families than I wish, but the utter despair and lack of hope that resides in others is too common to ignore. To change the world, we must start with one person at a time, and who is in a better position to influence others than parents and educators? It starts with us. We must own this responsibility: to notice others and their efforts. We must value the life force in each of those we influence and nurture it. This is how we can have the greatest impact on the future.