A 14-year old boy from New Haven wrote the following poem, and it's insightful and sobering.
It was spring, but it was summer I wanted, The warm days, and the great outdoors. It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air. It was fall, but it was winter I wanted, The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season. It was winter, but it was spring I wanted, The warmth and the blossoming of nature. I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted, The freedom and respect. I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted, To be mature, and sophisticated. I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted, The youth and the free spirit. I was retired, but it was middle-age I wanted, The presence of mind without limitations. My life was over, and I never got what I wanted.
Now, I don't know how that 14-year old figured out how the 20-year olds, the middle-aged, and the retirees felt about life. Perhaps he got some help from his grandmother who submitted the poem to Dear Abbey (Chicago Tribune).
But, what we know for sure is that the young author hit the nail squarely on the head. Go ahead and read it again. Let it sink in. Whichever stage of life you're at, this poem accurately captures the state of your heart.
We all have yearnings and longings for the next thing, the greater thing, the bigger thing. We're, in fact, taught to have ever-increasing desires. We teach the children to dream big and take one step after another to reach it. And, what is the result? We move on from one stage of life to another, hopping from one job to a better-paying one, moving to bigger homes in better neighborhoods, buying fancier and more luxurious cars, etc. This insatiable desire for "What's the next and better thing?" is quite maddening in light of life's finitude. In the end, we leave everything behind and.... die.
While it's perfectly fine to dream big and have goals, it's perhaps more important to enjoy and relish the moment. And, it's perfectly okay to remain where you are and even move on to lesser things. Life is not to be lived as an ongoing linear progression toward the next great thing. No, it is to be enjoyed moment by moment, one day at a time. That's the principle emphasized in Ecclesiastes. You can plan and strategize all you want. But, God is the one who will determine the steps.
So, when someone asks you, "What's next," it's okay to say, "I don't know." And, even if you see the next stage of life as "lesser" and more "humbling" than before, that's alright as long as you're in the Master's will. Don't fall for the lie that the next thing has to be bigger, better, greater, and more.
Commentaires