the things we inherit

one time i was talking to a dear friend about the different faults we find in ourselves and how we like to blame our parents for them. and, to a degree, rightly so. we "inherit" baggage from our parents in one way or another and there's little we can do about it besides accept it and try to play with the hand we've been dealt.

but then, he added something that has stuck with me. he noticed how he focused so much on the bad cards in his hand that he was at risk of missing the very good cards he held too. the things we "inherit" from our parents aren't exclusively negative (and for some people it should be pointed out that they're not exclusively positive either... everyone's imperfect). in fact, there are some things that my parents gave me that i've come to value and be grateful for.

i inherited a tendency to always wonder why from my dad.
i inherited an ability to feel things deeply from my mom.
i inherited a mistrust of inauthenticity from them both.
i inherited a value of physical health from my mom.
i inherited my sense of humor from my dad.
i inherited intelligence from both of them.

if it weren't for my parents (humor me on this one... i mean without my parents i'd obviously have never been born, but that's not the point) i wouldn't have a tendency to self-doubt, focus on negativity, mistrust people, etc., but i also wouldn't have become who i am that is so much more than self-doubt, negativity, and mistrust.