The sneaking premonition that nothing in this world lasts forever came up and nipped me quite unexpectedly when I was just four years old. I remember the day clearly, and the thought that came upon me without any warning at all: a chest full of gold if thrown to the bottom of the sea will eventually be dissolved by the water. Even the biggest and best bars, with enough time, disappear with the current as if they had never existed.
Startled by the prospect that even the best things might not last forever, I asked my mom if the dissolving of so much gold at the bottom of the sea could really be so. Perhaps she wasn’t listening to my childish question or really was and instead wanted to instill in me the values of security and eternity, but she answered me wrongly in saying that even if the gold was worn away bit by bit it would last forever. Either way, I was too smart for her answer and reasoned my philosophy through to its logical conclusion that everything on Earth has its time and then dissolves away.
They say that when one reaches about my age they start to realize the reality of worldly impermanence and physical death. Parents start getting sick and the cycle of birth and death can be seen as clear as an unmuddied stream as we start to have kids of our own. I don’t know how I’d come to grips with it all if I didn’t have the assurance of faith that there is a place where gold, even streets made entirely of gold, is never dissolved away and where water represents not the wear and tear of time but instead an eternal life-giving fount of beauty and love.
3 comments:
Hey Jas.I still remember well I was in my twentys when my mortality hit me.It hit me some day men would carry me to the cemetery then go back to the church for some chicken and potatoe salad and this old world would go on without me.Even scarier than that is when it hits you that you are going to turn out just like your parents.Yes bib overalls and everything.If that thought dosent send you diving to touch the hem of Christs garment I dont know what will.Love Dad
23 years old and mortality sets in. I told you it would happen at this age. Psychology 101 material was correct. Gold may wash away from the bottom of the ocean but occassionally a lone surviving piece from a shipwreck is found and a glimpse of another lifetime is shown. The gold nuggets (hmmm I know you are fond of that phrase) we pass on to our children and grandchildren keep our legacy on this earth continuing despite our passing. Hey Jason, you are getting old - deal with it!
Love, Mom
You are blessed to come to the realization sooner rather than later. Now that you have focused on eternity, everything falls into the proper perspective. At least it will help keep you from wasting your time.
Maria Hrubik Landry
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