Monday, August 28, 2006

A mighty, rushing wind

We sit here in Central Florida awaiting hurricane Ernesto. Ernesto has had definite developmental difficulties. He has gone from tropical storm with winds of 35 miles per hour to hurricane with winds over 75 mph and now is reported to be blowing at 40 mph. This definitely downgrades him from Mighty Rushing Wind to merely a Rushing Wind. His course, too, has changed. Instead of heading for New Orleans, or, later, Tampa, he currently is expected to roll up the east coast of Florida. Oh! How the might have fallen! Perhaps by the time he gets there he will be merely a tropical breeze.

I know we are talking about a hurricane, but doesn't this all sound familiar. Could it be your life or mine?

Most of us have developmental difficulties. We each face a set of tasks we must master in order to tackle the next more advanced set. Both our own efforts and external forces over which we have no control contribute to our development. For example, it you don't learn the alphabet you won't be able to learn to read. If we hear the alphabet song we are probably more likely to succeed than if we hear Peter and the Wolf. The example is crude, but you get the idea. Are you still wrestling with some basic concept you should have learned in kindergarten or first grade?

What difference does all this make? Considering it is good for our self-esteem or for our compassion!