Conviction

My parents are in their 70's.  I love them and I know they love me.  We enjoy getting together and sharing laughs over cocktails, dinner and always dessert.  They've raised 5 children.  They are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  They have strong opinions about a range of subjects and aren't afraid to share those opinions regardless of whether they think everyone in the room is going to agree with them.  They have "conviction" in their religious beliefs, in their political beliefs, and in their love for each other.  I respect and admire their conviction.

Their passion for their beliefs is amazing.  I don't think the word "conviction" is used much today.  I started really thinking about it as I teased them about their never wavering taste in music/radio.  Why is it that starting when I can remember (70's probably) they thought that current music was loud, annoying and just a bunch of screaming with nonsensical words?   Now sometimes they are right on; but in other respects it may be generational and I find it interesting.  They never embraced the Beatles, Elvis or really anything after the late 50's except "Talk Radio" which I think has something to do with the fact that they grew up with more radio than TV and find it comforting.

Now with 5 kids you're going to have to deal with a lot of different convictions.  This is where they have definitely softened.  They are not judgemental in regards to our convictions.  Why?  I think they've learned  that they love our differences and at this stage of the game they are probably not going to change our minds about certain subjects.  When we're together it's about sharing time and laughs not about convincing each other we're right about a certain subject. 

So this morning, I put two feet on the floor and am thinking about what my convictions are -  I'm going to make today's belief simple; I'm going to go for an awesome run and I encourage you to join me!

PS:  To my mom and dad; I didn't write this for you because you said you liked my blog; just something I think about; love you.