Life has been described in many different ways by many people such as this unknown author’s statement, “Life… is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming—WOW—What a ride!” Each one of us works our way through life in a myriad of ways. Some move ever so carefully and circum- spect, as if each and every one of life’s decisions seems to be as calculated as moving a chess piece in the final seconds of the game.
While others run roughshod through life, as though their direction were determined solely by the circumstances of any given moment. We all have similar needs that have to be satisfied along the route; how we may satisfy those needs will vary. Beyond those needs, however, we can be very dissimilar, in many respects. Yet, just because we start down one of life’s many roads, carefully or recklessly, doesn’t mean that we can’t, or won’t, change our modus operandi or (approach) to life. It may even be a complete change of direction. What may cause us to change direction, either for good or ill, may be as simple as a single word spoken at a moment of susceptibility. People have commented about how a person used to be so nice, or so responsible and now it appears that they have become just the opposite and vice versa. Do we all have within us the capacity for both good and not so good? Edward Sanford Martin said, “Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud There’s one that’s broken-hearted for his sins; There’s one that’s unrepentant sits and grins; There’s one that loves his neighbor as himself; There’s one that cares for naught but fame and self; From much corroding care I should be free, If I could once determine which is me!”
What he was describing is what Paul, in the New Testament, described as the natural man vs. the spiritual man. I do not believe we are one or the other, but rather somewhere along a continuum, with some of us slowly moving towards the spiritual end and others moving more and more towards the natural. Some of us, I suppose, may change directions as often as we are influenced by one side or the other. Dr. Seuss said it best:
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know And you are the guy who’ll decide where you go.”
There are those in our lives who seem to be stalwarts, always steadfast in their behavior. What they say is what they do. These people should be our anchors in life, people that we should never allow ourselves to drift too far away from. People who will throw us a lifeline when we sometimes find ourselves in troubled water. These may include parents, grandparents, spiritual leaders, a neighbor or maybe even a friend. We have all had these people cross our path. These are people we have looked up to, people we would not want to cause to be disappointed or ashamed of us. God bless those who are pillars of strength who help us inch our way along the continuum of life.