In soaking up knowledge, perhaps as a form of narcissism we often tend to use it as a gauge of our own selves.
Patience, tolerance of others; these virtues I have sought to learn through years of living in a world of individuals. But to myself, I still apply the absolutes. To seek how high, I look below to see how far to fall, and often choose instead a different path.
The either/or’s of life are faced in every second of the day—even just by thinking, thus holding back one’s forward step by a second of delay. But all the forward motion—whether giants steps or small, bring all to the same end at some sweet time. I need to see the boundaries, the edges of the world, explore them all with fingers, feet, and eyes. Just a touch, a minute then to linger and move on.
In the movie, The Sliding Doors, we get a chance to watch a follow-through of the great “What if?” A variable, a split second, space or time, and a life splits off in its direction. If we could see them through in our own lives, watch the two trails diverge, would it have been any easier to decide? There are no rules, you know, that disallow another fork further up the road.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology