Dealing with the same old problem?
Lots of people are which is why we made it our theme for the week. No matter how small an unresolved problem, it has a way of wearing us down. Sometimes doing major damage to morale and productivity. Often to the point where we give up on our goals and dreams.
Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes certainly dealt with a myriad of the same old problems year after year as a child growing up desperately poor in Limerick, Ireland during the 1930’s and 1940’s. His father was an alcoholic. He lost several siblings to disease from living in squalor.
He endured years of emotional and physical pain; eventually moved to New York and became a teacher; and then wrote Angela’s Ashes, which became internationally recognized for it’s gritty and often humorous portrayal of growing up poor in Ireland.
We hope you’ll get the popcorn, Milk Duds and Raisinettes and gather everyone around and enjoy this double-feature.
First – this 2-minute trailer from the movie based on his book and proving the luck of the Irish often takes a lot of hard work.
Now – here is a clip from an interview with Sandip Roy on FORA.TV in which Mr. McCourt describes the stigma of being poor and how those around him during that time offered little hope.
He said the only way he got through his childhood was to visualize walking up the lane to the train depot, getting on and never coming back.
Feel free to watch the whole 4-minute interview, but we found the first 2 1/2 minutes most appropriate for our theme of pushing through the same old problems.
Questions for Thought or Group Discussion:
1. What were the problems Frank McCourt overcame? Which of them are on our list of 10 reasons for having the same old problem?
2. His vision of getting on the train and living a better life sustained him through all the hard work it took to break through the problems. What is your vision? Why is it important to you? Is it important enough to help you push through the problems that will pop up along the way?
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