Maybe you've done it too. Imagine yourself at the Pearly Gates. Assuming -- for the sake of discussion and deliverance -- those Gates exist, what might we be asked...?
I've been advised that -- whatever our religious or irreligious predisposition -- only one question will greet us: "How did you use My gift?"
Posed that way, life surely does appear to be a gift. So. Was it cherished? Enjoyed? Spent? Wasted? Mis-understood? As you can see, the question quickly becomes complicated. What's more, we don't get a second chance to live it; at least not the same one. However, of all the possible answers, the most tragic may be: "I mis-understood it." That's something like coming back from the Grand Canyon and reporting the litter!
In contrast to ours, have you ever noticed the eyes of a child? They're wide and open and bursting with wonder. Our's have gradually narrowed and squeezed and become impatient. We grow more weary and wary. We tend to see and accept only what we want to see and accept.
Enter the great curse of adulthood: Skipping...!
Not playfully as the child, but impatiently as one who won't take the time. The time to get past the fast headlines... the quickie captions...the nifty soundbites...the handy labels...the smarmy rumors. Imagine if the tabloids and celebrity magazines were the only ones reporting the news:
* Bible > "Dead Guy Catches On With The Fans!"
* High Schools >"Metal Detectors For The Stupid!"
* Police > "Donuts Run Amuck!"
* PBS > "Television To Go To Sleep By!"
* Government > "Fire Them All!"
Kinda cute? Sorta correct? Well, that's precisely why some reporters and broadcasters go this route. Busy audiences like their news fast. Simple. Easy to remember. You know, it's why some prefer Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim. You can hum the melody as you leave the theatre. Trouble is, today's melodies are almost always in the key of H. H for half-truths!
If life is a gift, and time is the package it comes in, then it's probably a good idea to unwrap it more slowly. More carefully. And a lot more lovingly.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll try to be ready!!!
ReplyDeleteThen there are those that feel there is much to be done. I believe these people live longer. Those that abuse the gift through excesses that are not healthy leave this earth early. Their eyes are the squintiest, eh whot?
ReplyDeleteA very interesting post, Jack. I suppose they would ask me 'what good have you done with your time ?'
ReplyDeleteMy answer would be that 'I've done what I thought was right at the time, and done my duty to the best of my ability'.
But if I have done any good ? well that is subject to how other people think of my actions, and only they can answer that.
But I always like to leave people smiling, so that must at least count in my favour! x
Jerry & Alfie ~ Clearly, you're my kinda guys! But the world needs a lot lot more.
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