Title: A Florida Point of View
I spent this past
week at my parent’s house comfortably located within a quaint community of
adults fifty-five and older outside of Orlando. This five-day visit would change
my life. One week before I was scheduled to depart, I found out my mother was
diagnosed with stage-four cancer. As you
can imagine, I traveled to Florida with a heavy heart. Prior to leaving, I
assumed my mother would move to New York to live closer to family. Contrary to my
initial thoughts, her choice was to stay in Florida. Even though both parents
spoke highly of their close-knit community and the overwhelming support, I was
somewhat skeptical. No one could care for my mother like we could.
In Learning to Think Things Through, Gerald
Nosich wrote about critical thinking and said, “Whenever we reason through
something, we do so within some point of view. So it always makes sense to ask,
‘From what point of view am I addressing this issue?’” (p. 60). Prior to this
course, I would have stuck to my guns and argued my case to relocate my mother
to New York. By integrating the circle of elements in my thinking, I learned to
collect data (what is being offered at Florida, what kind of support does she
have, etc.) along with evaluating my many assumptions (we can provide better
support, she will be better off in New York, etc.).
Nosich also said,
“Part of being a critical thinker is having the ability to bring to bear a
variety of relevant points of view” (p. 60). Before the end of my first day in
Florida, I realized I made a false assumption and perceived my mother’s
situation through a lens of limited knowledge. Viewing the situation from her
perspective, witnessing the overwhelming support from her community, and experiencing
the love and understanding of her neighbors, I immediately knew she made the
right decision. What I witnessed in Orlando was an incredible collection of men
and women celebrating the final season of life with fellow sojourners. Similar
to military members overseas, these seniors create a family environment with
encouragement, life experiences, and enough food for the 22nd
Airborne.
On the way home, I
purchased John Maxwell’s new book The 15
Invaluable Laws of Growth in the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta. Coincidentally,
chapter four is titled, “The Law of Reflection.” Maxwell (2012) started the
chapter by stating, “There are many different ways of growing and an infinite
number of lessons to be learned in life. But there are some kinds of growth that
come to us only if we are willing to
stop, pause, and allow the lessons to catch up with us” (p. 51). Stopping,
pausing, and allowing these truths to sink in by opening myself to a variety of
other points of view will continue to develop the lasting change in my thinking
that this course has started.
At the beginning
of this class, I believed I’d learn tools to help me make better decisions at
work and when leading men. What I didn’t know were the implications these
critical thinking elements would have on such personal and life-altering situations.
While I recognize the next few months are going to be difficult for my family, it
helps to know in our absence my mother will be surrounded by people who love
her.
Steve
References:
Maxwell, J. (2012). The 15 Invaluable
Laws of Growth. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.
Nosich, G. (2012). Learning to
Think Things Through. Boston, MA: Pearson.
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