A Letter to Fathers
On Father’s Day
“Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” — Charles Kettering
Dear Fathers,
We live in interesting times. Not unlike those that came before. And certainly not unlike those that are yet to come … unless we change them.
Change is not so bad. We do it all the time. Our socks, our shoes, our ties, all in the space of 24 hours. And we do it every day.
We change the radio stations. The TV channels. The News that rambles on, and watch YouTube videos of rescued cats, and weird weather instead.
We change the locks on our doors, the oil in our cars, the looks on our faces as we return home each night after a long day.
We change anything and everything that stands in our way; presents a challenge or might prove us wrong, if we didn’t deal with it right away. We change the way the earth looks, the height of mountains and depth of seas, so that what we want can go in its place.
There is no deed we cannot undo; no wrong that we cannot right, no hurt that we cannot heal or at least make better.
We do all these things without questioning how or why. That it’s there before us, is reason enough.
It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was. — Anne Sexton
We are capable of tremendous motion in any direction. And throughout history all the things we have ever accomplished began with one simple act: We changed our minds.
We live in interesting times, those that not only challenge us, but perplex us, define us, and leave us wanting for something better or different or more fulfilling.
These times came about through an abundance of creativity, passion, desire, pain, indifference, acceptance, rejection and delay. These are our times for better or worse.
“When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.” — Linda Poindexter
For some of us, there is more time behind us than before us. For others, there is much to be done and time enough to do it. We have brought about change before. We did it for ourselves, for our children, for our country, for our future.
We may have even thought that what we did and what we changed already, was enough. Perhaps more than enough. And the idea of returning to those places, rolling up our sleeves and having to do it again, is not all that appealing. Why would it be. We changed, we thought it only fair that others did as well.
But it doesn’t matter what others did or didn’t do, because in the end it is and has always been on the shoulders of those who are willing to take on the effort to bring about the change that is needed.
All men are the same. We all come from the same place, via different journeys perhaps, but we are no different where it matters most. In our hearts and minds.
We build bridges and great skyscrapers that touch the clouds. We tunnel through mountains on either side and meet in the middle, at the exact same point. We stepped onto the moon, sent ships beyond our planets and cured diseases that have plagued man, and still do.
We are capable of great change if we put our mind and hearts behind the task and not allow anything to alter our purpose or our point of view.
All men are the same, all equal. All needing love and purpose and connection in their lives. It’s our time now to change whatever stands in the way of making a difference. Any act, word spoken, idea conveyed that brings about positive change, is worth doing.
Change is not so bad. We do it every day.
Happy Father’s Day.
Love,
Joe Luca
“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” — C.B. Kelland
Joe Luca is writer and editor for ILLUMINATION and a published author and writer of children’s stories, short fiction, non-fiction articles, screenplays and poetry. Publications include Child’s Life, Children’s Playmate and others. There are some other articles below — have a read. And thank you for stopping by.
