School Story
"What accomplishments would you highlight in your life over the last 50 years?" "How broad is my world?" These interrogative statements were made by me to one of our own. One of the class of 74.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" is a common saying that originated from a Chinese proverb. The quotation is from Chapter 64 of the Dao De Jing ascribed to Laozi.
The journey inside that first classroom, for me, began in Arizona. Not Kansas. Texas was where that first chapter of “school” ended. However, Wichita played a part for seven years. East High and Wichita was home for years. The last chapter of basic education was short, as it would have been at East. My credit count was exceeded mid term in Texas our senior year, as it would have been at East. Therefore, I chose to follow my path. Technically, I finished High School. I have the “paper” to back the statement up. I refused, however, to go through the graduation misadventure of the “Cap and Gown” dog and pony show. I had things I wanted to do.
That next big step came later. Even that step originated in Wichita. Have you seen a sunrise from mid ocean? Perhaps from a savanna in Africa? A beach in Cuba? Spain? Singapore? Greece? Near the summit of the Mount Carmel? A sunset from Australia? Among those places and others, the questions of “What am I to make of my life” were answered. Among those answers was: “Teach what you know.”
In my twenty-four years of Naval service, I went from student to teacher. Impacting the lives of over three thousand in the process. I kept count. So, my question to you. What did you do with your time this last half century?
I think you could also have a grasp of my world, seeing it’s tied into the first question. Has your life spanned the globe? Have you impacted a part of this good earth you would hold up? Not for a prize, but to stand proud to say “I was there. I was not silent!”
Our life is not yet a closed book. Our circle, our sphere, is phenomenal in scope. Never stop being the student or teacher. Never stop your degree of influence or learning. None of us has reached 41,253, a perfect sphere. We still have the task of doing and being. It’s our one purpose. And it’s not our glory. It’s just part of that journey.
