Despite their outward appearances they remain psychologically still very much the children of their parents, living by hand-me-down values, motivated primarily by their parents’ approval and disapproval (even when their parents are long dead and buried), never having dared to truly take their destiny into their own hands. ~ Peck, M. Scott. The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth (p. 125). Touchstone. Kindle Edition.

Have you grown up?
Have you assumed responsibility
for your own life? Do your parents…
or theirs before them…control you,
your thoughts, your values, your goals?
I often tell myself, echoing my father,
“Don’t be sorry, don’t do it!!”
That’s a hand-me-down value I approve,
one I hope I’ve made mine.
But today and every day,
I hope I will dare to truly
to take my destiny into my own hands.