Thursday, November 30, 2017
Build like a Child
On a warm summer at a beautiful beach a little boy on his
knees scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bucket. He upends
the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little
architect, a castle tower is created. He works all afternoon spooning out the
moat, packing the walls, building sentries with bottle tops and bridges with
Popsicle sticks. With his hours of hard work on the beach a sandcastle will be
built.
In a Big city with
busy streets and rumbling traffic, a man works in an office. He shuffles papers into stacks, delegates
assignments, cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with
his fingers. He juggles with numbers, contracts get signed and much to the
delight of the man, a profit is made. All his life he will work. Formulating
the plans and forecasting the future. His annuities will be sentries and
Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.
The two builders of
the two castles have very much in common. They both shape granules into
grandeurs. They both make something beautiful out of nothing. They both are
very diligent and determined to build their world. And for both, the tide will
rise and the end will come. Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the
little boy sees the end of his castle while the man ignores it. As the dusk
approaches and the waves near, the child jumps to his feet and begins to clap
as the waves wash away his masterpiece. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret.
He is not surprised, he knew this would happen. He smiles, picks up his tools
and takes his father’s hand, and goes home.
The man in his sophisticated office is not very wise like
the child. As the wave of years collapses on his empire, he is terrified. He
hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He tries to block the waves with
the walls he made. He snarls at the incoming tide. “It’s my castle,” he defies.
The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs.
Go ahead and build your dreams, but build with a child’s
heart. When the sun sets and the tides take – applaud. Salute the process of
life and go home with a smile.
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