THE BIG FORK IN THE ROAD OF LIFE

Ahhh...hmmm...gurgle. It's warm and soft in here. Why in heaven's name would I want to leave this place for that cold white room out there!

But, want to or not, we're born into this cold white world. A little dicey at first. Pretty soon, though, we can get to like it. Because, well, Mom's even warmer and softer. Plus the milk. Not so bad after all.

The trajectory of our life begins on a sweet I-take-you-give arrangement. Lasts for a long time. Parents...older siblings ...doting aunts...concerned teachers...kindly clergy...maybe even neighbors with after-school cookies. No, not bad at all.

However.

This felicitous trajectory eventually takes a sharp turn. Now, of all things, people start expecting me to do some of the giving. College professors...bosses...cops...sergeants...tax collectors. Wait a minute, I didn't sign up for this. No wonder Linus hangs on to that little blue blanket. He misses that first-draft to that contract. Much easier to take than to give.

That -- as any adult can now tell you -- is the irony to childhood's ardent dream of becoming an adult. All that freedom to do whatever you want. Ahh, upon some reflection, it may have been a little over-sold. With every birthday there's more freedom, yes, but it comes with a price. The world, once so yielding and giving, expects you to give back.

This, then, is that fork in the road's trajectory where adults must make a choice. Taking is easy; giving, not so much. Unless, that is, you can give with an open hand rather than a clenched fist. Unless you can start to understand you're really not an island, but part of a continent. Unless you can uncover the great dusty wisdoms enshrined by all the world's great religions.,,

...that in giving a little of yourself, there's lot to get back. The reward of learning this little space you're taking up on the planet has a big purpose after all.