life is ironic

It occured to me this morning -- as it has often occured to me in the past, but never as eloquently as today -- that the most important thing you learn as you grow up is that you are never "grown up." The more knowledge you acquire, the more you realize that you know nothing.

How many times have I told myself that life will be what I want it to be in the future? How many times have I ignored where I am now because I was so concerned with the future? How long have I tried to make something out of myself that I liked, only to feel completely unsatistfied and start over again? How many of us has looked forward to something for so long, and yet found themselves utterly disappointed when that end is finally realized?

And thus I am trying to remind myself that life is too short not to savor every moment. Pardon the cliche when I say that every moment is a gift, and it should not be squandered. Think of Jesus's parable of the prodigal son. He took his inheritance and ran with it. He spent it on things that did not satisfy him beyond the moment. And in the end, he returns to where he was. No growth, nothing to show for his time, only shame. And when we read that story, we think, "how foolish of him to squander his resources!" Yet that is precisely what we do with so many seconds and minutes and inhalations and exhalations that God gives to us, here and now and until we die. So preserve the child within you. Love that which is marvelous, and remember that life is short.