Life Lessons: Wisdom and inner strength

One thing I realize each day I wake up and start my daily routine is that I have a purpose and a reason for my life and I have others relying on me and I need to always stay focused, maintain an inner strength and always draw from my experiences and all that I have learned. In life we will have good days and bad days and we have to ride them out and find a way to best deal with the ups and downs we encounter. My son is the best thing that ever happened in my life and he makes me feel blessed and complete. My wife also gives me encouragement and makes a tough day a bit more tolerable. It is very important that we stay true to the ones we love and that we maintain an inner peace and a sense of ourselves and all that is important to us. It is the wisdom we acquire throughout our lifetime that helps us work through the difficult times we encounter and hopefully resolve them the best way we can.

Personally I have dealt with loss and I know the pain and suffering all too well and I know it is one of the hardest things in our life we will have to face but it is a natural progression that eventually will occur but one we hope never to face though reality says otherwise. It is by far a very difficult matter to discuss with a child and I have tried and realize that my son has an innocence about him and although he knows about death he will not accept or discuss it. I wish not to upset my son so we do not discuss it but I worry for my son and wish to help him understand that we are merely passing through here and will eventually be called to a better place. I wish not to think about it but I realize as I am getting older that I need to plan for my son's future because I am not sure about my own mortality. We all will have to face it some day but we try not to think about it. It is in God's hands.

I am the son of an ironworker and a secretary and my parents were both very strong and very loving and caring. I had learned from them and had been given a life full of happiness and joy. I had all the comforts and love a kid could ask for and I wish to extend that to my son so he can feel comforted and loved too. A child is such a blessing and they are so innocent and so happy and I want that for my son always. I wish I could be with him forever guiding, teaching and protecting him. My son is a source of strength and inner determination and he is very intelligent and he always inspires me.

Having an autistic son with epilepsy presents many challenges and concerns and I have had my share of stress and worry over it and I have come to realize that there are some things we have no control over and if I worry about it I will not derive any benefit from it. I just have to always be prepared and have faith and be strong and learn to be at peace so I can always be there for my son. I have had many conversations with my wife about this and she has always told me that worrying does not make it better. Our son is very bright and he can pick up on things like that so it is best to always show that inner strength and to live one day at a time and to live by the words of the serenity prayer my parents taught me a long time ago.

The prayer is as follows:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

It is simple yet so true and it is something I remind myself quite often in life as I ride the many ups and downs. It is always important that we never feel alone and that we always feel loved. I will always love my wife and son as they both are so very important in my life.

Edward D. Iannielli III