Life is filled with traditions. And, even though our civilization, at present, seems to be “an enigma wrapped in a riddle,” (1) to paraphrase Winston Churchill, time moves on. I am off to a wedding. Like any transition, it must include great travel and adventure prior to the event itself. It does: being far across land and sea. At first, we must endure the ubiquitous process of “security.” Now I am convinced that this overall procedure has taken on a life of its own. When I transit from one hermetically sealed space, an airport, to another hermetically sealed space, (2) another airport, it defies logic why a person would have to be searched on departure and upon arrival — but in many cases, this is what happens.
I often feel as if I am a bit player, an unimportant actor, in some Greek myth. Many terminals resemble the immense Minoan maze of Knossos with great minotaur-like guards ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. (3) What can we say about the reality of movement? It simply overwhelms us, to be sure. Recently, the great travel giant Thomas Cook (4) went out of business. He was an icon for he introduced humanity to the concept of modern travel — many people, even today, not being “world-class” travelers. (5) Now, large amounts of us think nothing of traveling vast distances to attend an important occurrence. Still, the multiplicity of movement and images continues to impress me.
Very quickly, I find myself seated in an airplane recliner and from my vantage point, I can see five screens: mine and four others – truly impossible to believe! I follow five different stories, as well. Such is modern life! What I don’t get is the cell phone! Where is the “collective unconscious” that Carl Jung (6) speaks of? Has it transmogrified into the Internet with its mind-numbing games and social media? I am sure that to a large part of the population the answer must be, yes. But, there is hope! I think that the aspirations of the young people of today who are protesting for or against numerous social causes are indicative – perhaps misguided – of a desire for change. This can only be beneficial to society in the long-term.
I digress: the journey continues. When you think to yourself that an airline controls a large population for some 10 or 12 hours, it does a really marvelous job – how does it do this? In a nutshell: with bad food and simplistic entertainment. But, I feel guilty because I haven’t paid the outrages prices demanded in the upper classes, don’t I? I maintain that we are still being, subconsciously, fed the pap that only the extremely affluent should undertake the grand tour. (7) It is time for this fallacy to end. I always get dressed up when I travel. I put on my best suit and pressed shirt. It is an event, I feel. Most of my desultory-looking colleagues would surely disagree. For them, I feel, the trip is analogous to a visit to the dentist – necessary, but painful. I believe that it is up to me to make every moment of my life as excellent as possible – and why not? This is the only way our traditions will endure. Finally, I arrive at my destination — to be continued. The great jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., (1841-1935) leaves us with a thought: A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.
A closing thought: I feel that we need not travel great distances to enjoy an adventure. We do, however, need to closely study the world around us and to reflect. It is a truly magnificent experience to awaken early in the morning. Though the body may be calling out for more sleep, becoming alert is an invigorating process. One of the great gifts of aging is that your appreciation for time deepens. You must have no sadness about the past; its lessons are already, at least in theory, learned. You have only the moment to contemplate, the now, and the future to attend to. You have been given more time to improve yourself – lucky you!
To sum up: This week we spoke about traditions and how they are a necessary part of any civilization.
To be noted: from Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881): The cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month.
Just for fun: Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli – Jattendrai Swing 1939
This week on your reflective promenade, please ponder your own traditions.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful
Quote: Teach yourself to observe everything and everywhere.
Footnotes
1) This means a puzzle – something difficult to solve. It is a quote from a speech given by Winston Churchill (1874-1965) in 1939: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”
2) A hermetically sealed space is one that is tightly closed. Here it is used as a metaphor to describe the impossibility of exiting this area.
3) Labyrinth
4) Thomas Cook
5) An Incredible Number of Americans Have Never Left Their Home State