Firm Foundation?
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that would pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. Saint Augustine (354-430), philosopher and theologian.
The Agitators
So off we go in pursuit. The forward-marching, goal-seeking organisms that we are. Grinding away, accumulating stuff and taking just enough off the top for fuel to keep us alive. We can even see ourselves as we peer down upon the ant colony. Just a mass of movement, coming and going, back and forth. So are we winning? How do we even measure victory? What does it look like? How does it smell? Once we get it, is it enough to satisfy the inner drive to achieve?
At the risk of sounding patronizing or even worse depressing, maybe we need to take a regular look at what we’re really after. The poor seem to dream of being rich, the rich of finding peace and the powerless of attaining great strength. Throw in some religion and politics and you have a downright free for all. Who has what versus those that don’t…sounds so ridiculous. We argue back and forth at who’s right and who’s wrong. Talking heads jump on the TV and Internet and agitate away until they create enough attention to self-fulfill. We line up in a hurry to join the fight, but again, where does this all leave us?
Neglected Cornerstone
Well if we look at our short lives as a construction project, then perhaps it makes sense to step back and take a look at what we’ve built so far. Just as if we were house hunting. We certainly know the neighborhood and style of house we dream of, so how does the life we’ve built look so far? For most of us we’re very tough self-critics. We seem to notice the glaring faults. The chipped paint, the cracked window, the rotten trim, the tired roof. Maybe some of us have spruced up the landscaping a bit, but we still see the problems. The hardest part is that these faults are the obvious ones, but what about the even harder to see issues. What about the wiring and the foundation itself?
While we were so busy painting and landscaping, we forgot about the core. Perhaps we’ve neglected the cornerstone. You see, no matter how hard we work on the exterior, it’s really the bones that matter the most! So let’s go back and ask some provocative questions. What’s the ground like that we chose to site the house on? Is it rocky or even sinking sand? Is it in a flood plane or muddy hillside? Sure maybe it looked enticing when we first chose the location, but in the long run was it or is it still the best choice? Did we take the time to properly survey the land and fortify the foundation in case of severe weather…because of course the storm eventually comes our way.
Big Bad Wolf
Remember that good old story about the Three Little Pigs? Well the Wolf eventually showed up and was downright hungry. He was also fairly relentless in his pursuit of those three little snacks. At first, it looked like the Wolf would have his way, but one of the three had thought well ahead. Maybe he caught some wind from the others as it took him a bit longer to work on his house, but time proved him the smartest. Now the good news was that he was a sharer and took great pride in his foresight and quickly took in his buddies. The best part is that thanks to that little house built on the solid foundation, the Wolf came up short. So maybe we should all take a few minutes to poke at our own houses and see if they are made of sticks and straw or solid brick, because it’s never to late to firm it up before the Wolf comes!
