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I have often reflected on one particular scene in the
movie, “Dead Poet’s Society;” (a good movie and an extraordinary scene).
“Mr. Keating,” a teacher at a private boy’s school, (who seems to have a knack for offering his students insightful tidbits, while using everyday objects and themes) leads his boys down the stairs from the classroom, and into the lobby of the institution.
The young professor walks towards a couple of trophy cases, and instructs his pupils to gather about him.
“Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You've walked past them many times. I don't think you've really looked at them. They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you.”
Mr. Keating’s boys are
“all ears” by this point in his monologue. They know something of some value is coming.
And with the assurance of
someone wiser than his years, the teacher continues.
“Did these young men in the
photographs wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota
of what they were capable? Because you see gentlemen, these boys are now
fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen closely, you can hear them whisper
their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it? (whispering in
a gruff voice) Carpe. Hear it? (whispering) Carpe. Carpe Diem.
…Seize the day boys. Make your
lives extraordinary.”
And I think we have the
privilege, opportunity and obligation to do this.
…To make our own lives
extraordinary.
To discover the best within
us. To find out that one thing which separates us from the rest. To develop
that talent, that gift, that interest, which almost begs for a forum, to a
razor’s edge. To, as Mr. Keating admonishes us, make our lives extraordinary.
And I think we have the innate wherewithal to do this. (Though I think too few
tend to do so).
There is an illusion in
Homer’s “The Iliad and the Odyssey” in which the hero of the story, Odysseus,
the captain of the ship, has himself tied to the mast, while he instructs the
remainder of his crew to pack wax in their ears. For you see, their ship was
scheduled to sail past a particular island populated by beautiful half-clothed
women, men-haters, who sang the most melodious of songs. And it was on the
shores of this island that dozens of ships had crashed upon the rough-hewn
rocks which surrounded it; crew after crew lured to their deaths by the
ethereal songs of the maidens. But due to the foresight of Odysseus, he is
among the first to hear the Siren Song, and live to tell the tale; as the ship
sails harmlessly past the island, and on to their port of call.
And while the foregoing myth
has a rather negative connotation, as a counselor I have “put a spin” on an old
story, and assigned it a more positive meaning. For as I have so often taught
my clients, God also sings a Siren Song. (Yes, He does). And amazingly,
…He sings it to you and me!
In Christian circles we have
labeled that song, “God’s Calling.” And I am convinced that our Lord calls you
and me to pursue a goal, to complete a task, to fulfill a destiny, and to leave
a legacy. And I am equally convinced that the Creator planned our individual
destinies
…before He made the worlds!
For in Psalms 139:16 we read,
“Before I ever took my first breath, you planned every day of my life” and
scripture assures you and me that “My times are in Your hands.” (Psalms 31:15)
Granted, the foregoing
information makes good theory until we discover whatever it is that God has for
us to do with our lives. But, I think, the same One who sings the song is more
than capable of lighting the pathway. For He has assured us that “if with all
your heart you will seek the Lord, Your God,
…you will find Him.” (Jeremiah
29:13)
And so much like the maidens
of Homer’s odyssey, the Master of the Universe humbles Himself to sing us His
song. It is left to us to take time to listen, and to go about fulfilling
whatever plans He has designed for us, as individuals, to complete.
In the words of “Mr. Keating,”
“Go on, lean in. Listen. Do
you hear it?
Carpe. Carpe Diem.
…Seize the day boys and girls.
Make your lives extraordinary.”
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