Saturday, October 14, 2006

Time trashes all trophies

A wise man I know recently shared a story with me. It went something like this:

"A former track star was invited to speak at his highschool, where he had graduated a number of years earlier after setting a number of track and field records there. But as he walked through the old gym, reminiscing about years gone by, he noticed that his old highschool trophies were conspicuously missing from the display case. Confused, he looked around the backroom, only to find that all his medals and trimmings of victory had been unceremoniously dumped into the trashcan to make room for the new record holders."
How many of us still bask in victories from days past? How many of us strive and drive and persist, only to find we're chasing the wind in vain? What is it all supposed to be about, anyway? I certainly don't claim to have the answers, but here's another story for you:
"There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up."
I think we were meant to have a spirit that calls out to spirit, that yearns for eternity and love, that extends mercy and an open hand, that reaches beyond for something more grand and noble than we can possible fathom. Cool. I hope we all find it.

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