Indeed, in the history books, you read about Caesar, Charles De Gaul, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abigale Adams, Nellie Bly, Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart, and Eleanor Roosevelt. They weaved themselves into the tapestry of world history as they affected countless millions of people in their day, and into the future.

You also may read about Genghis Kahn, Stalin, Hitler, Putin, Mussolini, Mao, Napoleon and many other assassins throughout history.  They caused untold misery, suffering, pain and death. They weaved their horrors onto humankind.

But what about the people that weaved their good or bad into your life?  What about your parents who weaved themselves and their dynamics into your journey from the day you were born until you left home at age eighteen. Most parents do the best they can, but some parents rear their children with abuse, and sometimes, unfathomable terror.

As for this journalist, my siblings and I lucked out to enjoy a father and mother that reared us with love, passion, education, sports and high self-esteem.  It's amazing because my mother grew up dirt poor, yet she raised herself to become an educated woman.  My father, youngest of 11, suffered his father abandoning the family when my dad was three, and his mother died of sepsis when he was eight years old.  He grew up in the lumbering town of Reed City, Michigan. He attended Western Michigan University on a baseball scholarship, but WWII drafted him into the Marine Corps. He fought in Iwo Jimi and Okinawa. By the grace of God, he lived.  He met my mom at a barn dance, and reared five good kids.

When I look back on his life, I am thankful that he didn't suffer from his childhood, and he didn't bring WWII back with him. He guided all of his four sons and daughter to be good students, and good athletes.  

I remember my mother said that if any of us were in the crib crying or on the floor crying, she would immediately pick us up and comfort us.  That one act may have been the reason all of my siblings enjoyed self-confidence and high self-esteem.  That's the kind of "Weaving into the Tapestry" of our lives that made a huge difference. 

Maybe you enjoyed such parenting, and that's why the tapestry of your life stands the test of time. You were given the tools to withstand the tempests of life.  Without a doubt, all of us face the endless tempests of life.

One of the things that my Dad did when I was having a hard time with something, or a bully at school…he would put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Son, if anyone can overcome that obstacle, and you're going to have many in your life…You Can Do It!"   I've taken his wisdom and attitude with me throughout my travels all over the planet.  I've taken that high self-esteem my mother gave me into every engagement and challenge of my life.

Thus, my parents weaved their lives into my life with good results.  As I look back, I was never hungry. I was not abused. I was praised for my work and/or athletics.

When I got to high school, my favorite teacher, Mrs. Nancy Stellar, taught English. She taught me how to write. When my father died, she was right there for me to cry on her shoulder. She lifted me out of my pain with positive energy and guidance.  She weaved herself into the tapestry of my life.  She lived long enough to read several of my books.  She will always be in my heart and mind.

But of course, during your lifetime, you're going to meet some really nasty people. In the end you can be sorry for them, because they only end up with other nasty people.  I remember one nasty guy, named Bobby V., in my 10th grade homeroom.  As I walked back from pencil sharpener, he jabbed a lead pencil up my butt as I walked by his seat. He challenged me to a fight after school. At the park, we got into, big time. I played sports and was in great shape. He was soft and sluggish.  He had three buddies with him. I had my 6'6" Billy Cannon buddy with me to keep things equal. 

As the fight commenced, he was terribly out of shape and I beat him up pretty badly giving him two black eyes. He quit from exhaustion. He never bothered me again.  Years later, he embezzled from a bank, and got eight years in prison. No one ever heard from him again.

In college, English instructor Mrs. Beatrice Moynihan, in Creative Writing 201, introduced me to Jack London, John Muir, Emerson, Troward, Nellie Bly, Edward Abbey, Amelia Earhart, Abigale Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Danielle Steele, and other great writers.

She said, "Frosty, your continued improvement in literature shows me that you're on your way to a journalistic career.  And remember this: keep writing, accept the rejection slips, learn from them, and keep submitting."  From her encouragement, I became a reporter for the Michigan State News, the largest college newspaper in the world with 44,000 papers six days a week. I loved giving interviews and writing editorials.

She REALLY weaved herself into the tapestry of my life. For her guidance and inspiration, she lives within me to this day. She even lived long enough to read several of my published books.

What does that mean for you?  In your life, continue looking for the threads of your life that interest you, that turn you on, that inspire your daily affairs.

Sometimes, it's a feeling in your gut. Maybe something that interests your mind. Perhaps something a friend is doing inspires you.  Pretend, if you are a woman, that your mother sees you struggling…and she walks over to you to put her arms around your shoulder and says,  "Honey, if anyone can do that, you can!"

If you are a woman, you might read this book: We The Women by Norah O'Donnell.  It's chock full of women of every color and origin who may have grown up poor and destitute, yet found their "thread" in that tapestry to do great things in this world. The "key" is to weave those individual threads into the tapestry of your life.  Because in the end, you're the only person who can make yourself happy.  Of course, surround yourself with friends who cheer you on your way.  Perhaps a reading, writing, painting, jewelry, sculptor class, or any group that interests you. Such gatherings bring out the best in you, and you in them.

Additionally, read: Big Magic—Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Her book expands your creative mind and explodes your ideas and energy for living a dynamic life.

If you're a man, read Jack London, John Muir, Edward Abbey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Roger Teel, and other writers that excite you and inspire you.  Endless books offer you advice on how to excite your life, how to enjoy each day, how to find your purpose, chase your purpose, catch your purpose and live your purpose.  I wrote one: Living Your Spectacular Life by Frosty Wooldridge. It gives 11 concepts and practices on how to live a spectacular life. It also chronicles over a dozen people who have done it for themselves.

In the end, you are the captain and crew of your life. You can sail any ocean, dive under the sea, fly above the land, and utilize the energies of life to your highest and best life experiences.  You will enjoy family and friends cheering you along your path. And you can inspire and cheer others along their paths. Vaya con Dios.

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