Friday, February 12, 2010

Going The Distance

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.

Charles Spurgeon
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Why does it take a lifetime to figure things out? Why does it take such a long time to make the journey to the goal of understanding ourselves and the world around us? These are rhetorical questions, of course. The answer is: things take as long as they take and there is no other answer as far as I know.

Was the snail ever discouraged by the long trip to the safety of understanding and enlightenment? How could he not be, considering the distance and the agonizingly slow means of transportation he had. Was he further discouraged by the mountainous burden he had to carry with him? Was he envious of the frogs and lizards who were going passt him so fast he could hardly see them and did he feel unjustly left behind by them? Did he want to hitch a ride on the back of some more successful traveler?

Did he take a break? Did he ever stop to rest because he was exhausted with the journey? Did he feel guilty about that?

Was he ever overcome by the futility of his attempt to reach the ark in time and did he therefore stop and relax for a while? Did he decide to hell with it and succumb to the pleasures along the way, forgetting what his journey was about?

Did he fear the door would close before he got there thus condemning him to die with the rest of the sluggards and ignorant? Did that anxiety overwhelm him? Was he even afraid that if he did get there in time Noah wouldn't allow him in? What if other snails had already entered and he would be unneeded? Would he then be rejected?

What if the rain came before he got there and he was abandoned to it?

What thoughts must have entered his little mind during that long and painful trip that tried to persuade him to stop and give up? And why didn't he give in to them? Why didn't he give up?

I've been on that long and painful snail's pace toward wisdom for almost 70 years. Why don't I give up?

DB - The Vagabond
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9 comments:

Rjet33 said...

Because around every corner Life has something else to teach you. :)

pacifica62 said...

Because life is a journey and not a destination. We learn at every stage in the journey of life. Just when we think that we have things all figured out, we find out that we do not. I would suspect that most of us go to our graves never having "figured things out".

Stan in NH said...

Because it is the journey that enables us to prepare ourselves for further journeys. Every situation we find ourselves in and choice we make to get ourselves out of it, help us to grow as human beings. The journey we were on in the past helps define the road we will continue to travel on in the future.

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

Great post, hmm, the journey is the lesson for me, but I'm enjoying it regardless.
Thank you so much for stopping by the Motivation Station, I appreciate it.

Sage Ravenwood said...

All great questions and I've had to ask much of myself these past few months. The path I'm on is hard. Does my heart think it worthy to continue, is the end result worth it? I think so. And that alone is enough to keep me going forward. (Hugs)Indigo

Big Mark 243 said...

I continue on because I don't know what else to do. The snail didn't either. That is why he got to the Ark.

What am I going to get to? Good question!!

Arlene (AJ) said...

Just stop and think what we'd all miss if we gave up....I'll never let that happen to me, I'm game to see what the next day brings good or bad and deal with it. Life is a challenge and I'm not going to allow myself to miss out on it.

Ken Riches said...

because around every corner, under every rock, on every blogger page, there is a new gem to experience, a new item to ponder, an new friend to inspire.

Judith Ellis said...

"Wisdom is the principal thing."