Families at Play, La Alameda, Santiago de Compostela
Many times life throws us a curveball. Things do not work out as planned or anticipated. That's just life. As Scottish bard, Robert Burns, has it:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
To A Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest, with the Plough
Written 1785
In modern English:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,
Instead of promised joy!
To live with wonder our appreciation of life comprehends both those schemes that work out as planned and those that don't. In fact, it often happens that the unplanned proves better for us than what we wanted. For desire is based on petty and fickle momentary feelings and thoughts whereas the universe of events and happenings is vaster than our three or four scores of wisdom permit us to know much less understand. The universe is really incomprehensible; that is, we are incapable by nature of possessing the knowledge and wisdom to control events and their outcome. We are tiny, finite creatures like drops of rain falling on the immense ocean of time and space that is the universe where for a moment we live and exercise consciousness and choice.
So with a little more wisdom (understood in our later years as "common sense") we grow to appreciate curve balls. We dream and plan our future but cultivate an attitude of wonder, willing and empowered by a capacity to be surprised. Living loosely and lightly we navigate the short span of our lives with immeasurable joy and delight. We acquire Burns' "promised joy."
No comments:
Post a Comment