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Dalton
Roberts |
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Those who say the past is dead and gone have had an experience quite different than mine. The past is ever fresh for me. If they say we cannot learn from our past, we really part company. One thing the past can do for us is to show us how good we had it when we thought we had it bad. The past looks much better in the light of the accumulated wisdom of the present. Look back on some of your times when you felt your life was the pits and today’s light reveals that many of those pits were just places you planted trees that stand tall today, blessing your life with their fruits. I am writing an autobiography right now and the most potent truth jumping out at me is that we actually live many lives. Some of the chapters are so unique and self-contained that they come to awareness as mini-lives flowing into the whole. To my chagrin, I am seeing that I hated some of those mini-lives at the time. Now as I look at them, I can see the rainbow around the pains and challenges. Even greater than the rainbow are the pots of gold I overlooked at the time. I was actually happier than I was able to realize at that time. Maybe one little chapter will make this clear for you. I was freshly married in my third year of college and living in an attic with my new bride. It was the only “apartment” we could afford. When I could find work, I made minimum wage. We ate so much peanut butter our skin was greasy. But there was camaraderie there with my wife in those days that is beautiful and precious to me now. We had our shared dream of getting an education so we could do good things for the world. We cherished each other because we had nothing else to cherish. I am sorry to say I didn’t realize how great my life was at that time. I allowed the stress of insecurity and the fires of ambition to blind me to the great joy of that shining moment. Today I consider those days to be some of the best days of the marriage. I am reminded of a wonderful story that went around on the Internet. An American tourist was buying fish from a Mexican fisherman and he asked, “How much do you make daily here in your fish business?” The Mexican said, “All I know is I make enough to sleep late, play with my kids, and take a siesta with my wife. At night I go into town with my guitar and play a few songs with my friends. It’s a good life.” The American said, “Listen, I have an MBA from Harvard and here’s what you should do: Get up earlier and fish a little later. Instead of selling to tourists, catch enough fish to sell to a big market. Save a little every week and soon you can buy another boat. As your sales mount, you can buy a whole fleet of boats and service hundreds of markets. You will be a wealthy man.” The Mexican said, “And how will that make me happy?” The American answered, “Well, you can retire when you are an old man, sleep late, play with your grandkids, take a siesta with your wife, and take your guitar into town at night to play a few songs with your friends.” The Mexican had enough sense to realize he was happy right where he was, doing what he was doing and living the life he was living. Someday you and I will look back on the life we are living right now. Won’t it be a shame if we wait until then to savor it? Pick up the Popsicle of today. Enjoy every bite. Then lick the stick.
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