Family: From Surviving to Thriving

The family is where we put down our first roots, where we form our most lasting impressions, where we put together the building blocks of our character, where we determine whether we will view life through the eyes of prejudice or acceptance. Family is where we learn to laugh and where we are allowed to weep without losing respect. Family is where we learn how to share, how to relate, how to treat other people. Family is where we learn how to interpret our surroundings correctly. It's where we discover, in practical terms, how to draw the line between right and wrong, between good and evil. Dysfunctional families blur that line, and boundaries become unclear. Solid, secure families have a clear view of the difference so that its members have very little ethical confusion. Moral dilemmas will challenge us, but people from healthy families are seldom unclear about what's right or wrong.