Day 81 – Traveling the Curve

February 28, 2015

 (This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day's gift.)

In the 1800’s, John Godfrey Saxe wrote a poem, “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” Each blind man touched only a part of the elephant but could not see the whole animal. Because of this, they knew only a part of the truth but all their knowledge together added up to the whole truth. Consider life as a sphere where we live our lives existing at one part of a circle, seeing only our arc and unable to see the other side because it is curved. We must travel and round the curves to understand the bigger picture.

There are always times in our lives where these curves obstruct comprehension. Parents living with teenagers will confirm this. When I taught middle/junior high school, my young students often saw their teachers as aliens and their teachers saw them in one dimension during the most turbulent part of their lives. We existed on different parts of the curve. It is rewarding today for me to be connected with former students, many on Facebook, and to see this relationship change from teacher/student to adult/adult. As we approach one another along the curve, through time and experience, our understanding comes full circle.

Shawn, a good friend, visited today. We first met in middle school where I was a teacher and he was a student. This afternoon, I savored conversation and friendship as we drank wine and ate cheese and bread, talking and laughing—sharing plans for travel. Life’s circles symbolize fulfillment.

              

My gift today is a circle of friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~­

> DAY 82 Beyond the Ice

You can read my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html