As a child, I remember the fog. That ghostly covering lingered everywhere: on the cars, on the houses and even on the people — at least it seemed. My consciousness is filled with countless images: this, however, is the most indelible. The suspended moisture created a pregnant silence: all could be serene, all could be at peace. Is it true — is it possible? As you walked, it felt as if something or someone was being produced right before your eyes, if you could only grasp it. Some semblance stood interspersed in the haze. It was there but so, so difficult to clearly identify.
This is much like life, is it not? When we are young, reality is confusing and difficult to understand. We finally come to a point where we able to make out the outlines of a gravel path leading somewhere – to where we are not sure. We thus tentatively begin. The mist, however, obscures our view. The trail and surrounding region are shrouded in an opacity that makes continuing difficult: but trundle on we must – step following step, kilometer “giving way” to new kilometer. The legs grow weary and the feet hurt from “smiting the ground.” (1) Just when we are ready to give up, we hear the lapping of the waves and then see the outline of a body of water. As we approach the shore, the immenseness of the sea is understood. We stand in awe. To the right is a small boat. In the vessel is a paddle. You seat yourself and begin to row – to where you are not quite sure. Welcome to the adventure of you: this is your personally tailored quest — sewn by whom? Only the cosmos knows the answer.
The question that always seems the most intriguing is, “What if you decide not to begin?” Why does everyone have to view life as an adventure? Why can’t I just exist for 70 or 80 years and then die? The simple answer is that we “naturally possess four traits as human beings: we are naturally happy, we exist in a state of peace, we are intrinsically loving beings and finally (and most importantly for the purposes of this piece) we are seekers. We are simply not “hardwired” to exist and then die. Animals, insects, and rocks can do this: we can’t. Our life pursuit need not take on a physical component: money, power and rock and roll. But at the very least, there is a spiritual side that all of us must identify with: failure to do so and we are totally amoral, (2) existing outside the corpus of humanity. In class, I often hear, when a student is asked for their life goals, “I just want to be happy.” This is a tragic and nonsensical response. You will not be happy if your economic condition disintegrates or if your personal and spiritual life is meaningless. The American Dream ideal, rather sadly in my estimation, has drawn a distinction between effort (toil) and recreation (happiness). This is not life. The only solution to a well-lived life is work. If you aspire to do what you love, calling it whatever name you choose, you will feel fulfilled and your life will have its requisite meaning. Failure to do so will produce nothing but dire consequences. The Daily Mail leaves us with a thought: “So, do we all want to live to be 100? I certainly do: But only if I can hang on to my mental and physical health. I recognize to achieve that, we must be prepared to put in some effort, find the discipline to eat properly, exercise enough and keep on learning new things to keep our minds active. We also need to be prepared to reach out to new friends as we lose the old ones. Is it worth the effort? … Many centenarians are not only enjoying their long lives, but their families and friends rightly treasure them as a valuable resource.” (3)
A closing thought: The great conundrum faced by all is that we are not given a life agent, someone to meticulously manage our career, our future. You must do this yourself. Conversely, no one can control the response of the crowds nor manage the results. You are on your own to have your own intimate and private conversation with your God in the “wee hours” of the night or morning, depending on the gravity of your problem. I personally believe in the power of prayer and meditation to find solutions. You alone can open that special door through which flows all answers and understanding.
To sum up: This week, we spoke about the adventure that each of us must undertake in our own life: the great adventure of me. Those that shirk from this task are only delaying what is necessary to live a complete and valuable life. This is a requisite for all human beings and cannot be avoided, or avoided at great peril: the avoidance results in a broken and mangled life.
An educational encounter: We are all encouraged to keep our emotions in check. Sometimes we forget this advice and must suffer the consequences. I teach at a university and have done so for many years. There is a security booth that is meant to check the flow of traffic and properly regulate it. Recently, the entire security staff quit or perhaps graduated. Regardless, there were suddenly a whole new “crop” of security guards. They stopped me and asked me for my university identification: stopped me, stopped me? I was, unfortunately, “having a bad day.” I allowed my displeasure at this intrusion, this personal insult, to be fully expressed. Did I say fully? The result: three months into the semester, I am stopped every single time I come to the gate and I am at the gate three times a week, no less. “May I see your identification, sir?” I am soon going to be fully contrite: lesson learned!
Just for fun—saxophone of Hallelujah
This week, please ponder your own life quest.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: Just begin: with a good heart, hard work, and prayer you eventually arrive at where you should be.
Footnotes:
1) From the Bible, 2 Kings 13:18
2) Amorality