I always associate Gilbert K. Chesterton’s great book, “Orthodoxy” with the odd but provocative sort of metaphor he used in its introductory chapter about the “English yachtsman who slightly miscalculated his course and discovered England under the impression that it was a new island in the South Seas.”
It set the tone for the whole, following work. As Chesterton went on to say about his voyager who sailed and searched all around the world and then discovered the riches of what was right under his nose at home, “How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?”
The challenge of each of our lives is not really about our being at home in the world, but about our being astonished at it—or, rather, our failure to be astonished at it!
It’s not that “familiarity breeds contempt” (Chaucer), but more that familiarity breeds indifference, taking things for granted, not marveling at the wonder, greatness, and gift of the world and our lives in it.
If you’re tempted to puzzle over why the world situation is what it is, why there are so many problems unsolved, why things seem to be going from better to worse, try turning off the (bad) news programs and really looking at yourself in the mirror.
Why me? What’s the expectation for me? How come there is a me? Where is my life going? How much more of it will I have? How can I pick up the broken pieces of it and continue?
The challenge for us bedazzled viewers, listeners, readers, travelers is to stop! to stop and think! to stop and thank!
We don’t want to be remembered as “much ado about nothing”.
For starters, how come you exist, really? Why were you born? Where is your life going? Are you asleep at the wheel? How much longer and more will it take?
We all need to remember to look at life, and the course of our own lives, with astonishment—with wonder, gladness, gratitude, and thankfulness.
How can you look forward to an unknown tomorrow with enthusiasm and joy, if you are blind to what is right under your nose, so to speak, right now?
That we exist at all is a wonder—and wonderful. That each time we awake to a new day is a gift—and we give thanks to God who created us and ever guides our lives.
What do we use to measure and evaluate our lives? Possessions? Reputation? Power? Privilege? Beauty? Attractiveness? Health? Care? Concern? Generosity? Sacrifice? Humility? Sincerity? Love?
The human condition and everlasting temptation is that no matter what we’ve done it’s never enough. Of course! We are not totally self-sufficient. We are creatures, and we must to look to our Creator for understanding, guidance, courage, and strength.
The man who discovered England really is a good metaphor for all of us.
All that we ever really need to know is right under our noses. What we seem to be yearning, searching, and journeying to find we’ve always had, even though we forget.
It’s challenging enough to understand anything well, and our lives have a long history of incomplete understandings and misunderstandings. It’s normal enough, although it’s regrettable.
Anyway, St. Augustine got it right when he said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
27 March 2022