Preserving Our Past For The Future

Have you ever thought much about the way you sign your name…the flow of the letters, what the figures are that form your name, or how your teacher or parent taught you to craft them in a certain way? My 3 year old granddaughter is learning the letters of the alphabet in preschool. Each week she brings home a sheet with a new letter…she proudly shows us the picture she colored of a ball and says “ buh, buh, buh, B is for BALL!” We all laugh, clap and show her how proud we are that she is learning what the teacher is showing her each day. In much the same way, we all learned to write our ABC’s in school.

We took a lined tablet and the teacher drew those letters tediously for us at the top of the page. We copied what we saw, or what we THOUGHT  we saw. Some of the letters were crooked like ancient hieroglyphics and pretty messy. But as we practiced and perfected, the letters became an exact match to our teacher’s letters. Then one day, we learned the most important thing taught in school. We learned how to write our own name. And we suddenly had something that we could be identified with and recognized by. It was a monumental accomplishment.

Have you ever thought much about your signature? There are all different ways we identify, personalize, and express ourselves, and our signature is one of the first. We learn the “right” way, then we may try our hand at spicing it up a bit. Little circles for the dots over the I’s, or we write the first letter, then flourish  the rest ending up with something unreadable. We might print an odd mix of capitals and lowercase letters, or sign in a way that looks like a real work of art.

Everything you do in life bears your personal signature. Each action you take – the way you complete every task, each work assignment, a cherished craft project, or your choice in a marital or parental instance to step up, or step back– is a reflection of you. It is identifiable, and others know you by the way you “sign your name” to your life moments.

Take a moment and sign your name on a blank piece of paper. Now look at it … ponder it … consider it carefully. What does your signature stand for? What kind of work does it represent? What reputation comes with it? Who does it say you really are? Make it meaningful – because your signature is attached to everything you do, and are.

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