On Keeping On

     

        When I was a child, there was a wonderful children’s story at the time that was frequently read. It was called simply “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and it involved a race between the two animals. The hare, being by far the fastest of the two, should have won the race easily, but it got sidetracked at every turn, and the tortoise, who paced itself and kept moving steadily forward, actually ended up winning. The learning for children was that “slow and steady wins the race,” a good teaching motto. Now there are, of course, a few flaws in the logic of the story, but never mind that, the idea of reaching a goal by steadily keeping on was a good one.

The value of concentration and effort...

Today, with all the electronic gadgets that bring us instant gratification without the need to extend ourselves much, is this a story that could be told to our kids? Is the value of concentration and effort as obvious as it used to be? If we are still thinking clearly, we know that it often is. We know the athlete’s skills are not built instantly; a flower bed does not produce blossoms overnight; a course of learning cannot be gotten by waving a book or a video at us and then moving on.

A fully-formed human being...

The wise among us know that gadgets serve their purpose, but they cannot substitute for the time and energy generated on becoming trained, skilled, fluent and expert in life’s ways. Indeed these are the marks of a fully-formed human being, and there is no way to go from childhood to genuine adulthood without them! Some things are truly precious and worth all that it takes to enjoy them.


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