Movers of the Great Stone
Who will help me move this great stone? It lies there in a most unappealing way, if it was turned, and then all its glory will be revealed.
Man has always admired the great stone, its strength, longevity, and mysticism. Early men worshiped it as the God Baal, and today you will find variations of this symbol around the world. This discussion would be more appropriate for someone more knowledgeable than me, but I believe my simple analogy will work. Just as that early stone admirer gazed upon his prize, did ambition set into place. He imagined the prestige that would surely come as others learned of his achievement. His name would be spoken within the circles of elders and soon many would aspire to raise a stone of their own. Fame was born in the fires of ambition, leaving all reason behind.
Families also deal with this same struggle on a smaller scale, but nonetheless if allowed to go unchecked disaster surely looms close by. When our children are small, all our hopes and dreams for them seem so possible. We are even tempted to relive our lives through them in order to satisfy personal failures. But as a family we too must move this great stone. It must be turned so that all can see its glory. As the children grow stronger we ask them to help us move the stone, sometimes without explaining our motives. “Come, push harder we have little time to waste” we call out. Some are obedient while others seek out ways to exclude them from the responsibility. We sternly scold those who choose to neglect the honorable cause, and admire the ones who never question their role. But what exactly is this stone? Is it only a material object with no real worth? Are we vainly demanding our children to slave their days away only to please a notion of fame?
Vanity comes to mind, as I continue to ponder my personal motivations for my family. If this is so, what path should I have taken? Should one let the stone lie, and allow foolish dreams to burn out in the privacy of our own homes? Is a family not a unit that requires success in order to remain viable and survive for the following generations? A failed family surely ends in extinction, lost to the ages never to be heard of again. So I say my friends, “Come, let us move the stone and let all see its glory!”
Who will help me move this great stone? It lies there in a most unappealing way, if it was turned, and then all its glory will be revealed.
Man has always admired the great stone, its strength, longevity, and mysticism. Early men worshiped it as the God Baal, and today you will find variations of this symbol around the world. This discussion would be more appropriate for someone more knowledgeable than me, but I believe my simple analogy will work. Just as that early stone admirer gazed upon his prize, did ambition set into place. He imagined the prestige that would surely come as others learned of his achievement. His name would be spoken within the circles of elders and soon many would aspire to raise a stone of their own. Fame was born in the fires of ambition, leaving all reason behind.
Families also deal with this same struggle on a smaller scale, but nonetheless if allowed to go unchecked disaster surely looms close by. When our children are small, all our hopes and dreams for them seem so possible. We are even tempted to relive our lives through them in order to satisfy personal failures. But as a family we too must move this great stone. It must be turned so that all can see its glory. As the children grow stronger we ask them to help us move the stone, sometimes without explaining our motives. “Come, push harder we have little time to waste” we call out. Some are obedient while others seek out ways to exclude them from the responsibility. We sternly scold those who choose to neglect the honorable cause, and admire the ones who never question their role. But what exactly is this stone? Is it only a material object with no real worth? Are we vainly demanding our children to slave their days away only to please a notion of fame?
Vanity comes to mind, as I continue to ponder my personal motivations for my family. If this is so, what path should I have taken? Should one let the stone lie, and allow foolish dreams to burn out in the privacy of our own homes? Is a family not a unit that requires success in order to remain viable and survive for the following generations? A failed family surely ends in extinction, lost to the ages never to be heard of again. So I say my friends, “Come, let us move the stone and let all see its glory!”
