A dog was carrying a piece of meat in his mouth to eat at home. On his way he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his reflection in the water beneath. Reacting as if it was another dog with a piece of meat, the dog snapped at the reflection in the water and by doing so opened his mouth and the meat fell out, dropping into the water never to be seen again.
There are many morals to this old story such as, “If you covet, you may lose all.” Or “It is very foolish to be greedy.” The moral I like best is, “beware lest you lose the real thing by grasping at its reflection.” Our ideas of a good life are often a reflection of our culture, the influence of others in our social groups or our consumption of siloed media.
I feel a sense of loss for the younger generations who live in the era of computers, gaming, and Artificial Intelligence, who never experienced the analog world. The joy of playing hide and seek outside, the journey of one’s mind writing in cursive and sending a letter in the mail and then waiting for a reply. The pleasure of listening to an album on a record player and reading the liner notes. The discussion of ideas that took place at the dinner table with family, rather than the mindless scrolling on smart phones. Reading a hardcover book and smelling the ink of the pages waft in the air as you turn them. Or finding a treasured old tome with musky pages and imbibing the prudence of the past.
I enjoy the innovation that technology has brought for the betterment of life. Better medicine, better information, better transportation, better communication, better opportunities. Yet, there is something about the virtue of the past that I hold passionately onto. Our nature as humans does not change. That is the one constant we find as we look back in history and see the humanity of our ancestors through story, song, and sagacity. Those that think human nature changes are like the dog snapping at its reflection.
The end of the year is a good time for reflection. It is a time when we bend back our thoughts and intentions and ruminate on the actions we did and did not take. I think about how dedicated I was to uphold the positive philosophy of the past while embracing the nutrients of the new year. Did I make a positive progression towards my intention? Did I make the right choices to advance the one or two classic ideas I wanted to implement that would help me succeed and thrive? Or was I too busy trying to gather up someone else’s reflection of who and what I should be? Jimmy Buffett had a lyric in a song he sang that goes, “only time will tell.”
Perhaps, that is the only thing we can be judged on. Did we do what was best for the advancement of the good, the true, and the beautiful? Or were we wrapped up in ruling others rather than taking stock on what we could do best as individuals to advance ourselves, and thereby humanity. In advance of the Jewish New Year Rosh Ha Shanna, literally meaning head of the new year, Jews reflect, and repent for their transgressions. The shofar, a ram’s horn made into a musical instrument, is blown as a symbolic “wake up call” from slumber. The sound reminds one to examine and conduct oneself so they may be written into the “Book of Life” for the coming year.
As you enter this New Year, it’s an opportune time to start your own personal “wake-up call” and make an old tradition new again. Give yourself the gift of doing those things that brought humanity to the dance. I am committing to opening each day with a mantra, prayer, or time to listen to my own breath. To write and read daily. To prepare and think thoughtfully to enable to create intentionally. To look to do something useful or thoughtful for someone else. To make someone smile each day. And to be intentional in what I do.
Giving myself thirty days to make each of these things a habit can help make them repeatable. Focusing on my desire to make it a habit increases my chances of repeating the next day. As I look back on this year’s successes, I continue to build up my strengths and work on those things I wish to improve day by day. I am aware of the day’s news, yet I refuse to be dragged into the muck of the world. I can have a positive mindset and impact myself by demonstrating what is possible for me by working to be the best I can be. To slow down to speed up in the coming year and not let the illusion of others deflect my focus.
The world advances sometimes for good, and sometime not, yet as Thomas Paine once stated, “The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. Happy New Year!
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