In A Blink Of The Eye
On this first week of 2021 it is almost impossible for one to be optimistic about our future, but age has a lot to do with it since there is so much to compare today to.
French writer, John-Baptiste Alphonse Kerr, editor of French newspaper, Le Figaro, founded in 1826, once wrote, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” That thinking also reminds one of the phrase, or paraphrase, if you don’t learn from your past, you will repeat it. Both phrases essentially say the same thing.
Unfortunately, each generation wraps their NEW ideas up in a pretty package and presents it as something valuable and new. Each generation, unfortunately, must endure the same pain as the previous ones to “learn the lesson.”
So, as we wait for the future to unfold, it might be a good idea to look back in history and see if we can glean any knowledge without the pain.
There are a few things that will always be the same, people will fall in love, they will have children; love is everlasting whether you get it right the first time. Some folks just love themselves. Being in love with yourself reminds me of driving down a muddy road by yourself and getting stuck. Who is going to help you get out of this predicament?
In most cases, you can’t do it alone. Having a partner, spouse, friend is a necessity to keep you on the rails, a good balance, someone to bounce ideas off of, and just knowing how to stay balanced in this world is an asset you can’t buy. We see how the lone wolf reacts when left to his own devices.
On December 21st, a remarkable thing happened, an occurrence that has not been seen by mankind since 1226 when two planets lined up in what appeared to be one planet. Some say the brilliance of the two planets together is the Christmas Star that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem and to the manger as written in the Bible. On Earth Jupiter and Saturn appeared as one even though they are millions of miles from each other and from us. Try wrapping your head around that fact.
It was one of those WOW moments similar to the total eclipse of the sun in 2017. I discovered a year in advance that my first cousin lived in the direct path, so on August 21st, 2017, several friends and I arrived at their house in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., invited of course, sat in lounge chairs on their patio and witnessed a once in a lifetime event.
The entire area went dark at 1:27 p.m., night birds began to chirp, the temperature dropped 10 degrees in three minutes and if this did not convince you of your powerless self, nothing would. Regardless of what was going on, what was being said, we stopped in those three minutes to marvel at what doesn’t change.
If we need to be grounded, there is an APP for that. Download “Skyview Lite” app on your cellphone, then in the evening go outside and point your cellphone to the sky and you will see the planets, the moon, the constellations as they have been for as long as we have been around and maybe before. It gives us a perspective of life that can’t be challenged.