"Knowing, therefore, that human prosperity never abides long in the same place, I shall pay attention to both alike." (p. 5) Herodotus The Histories
I picked up The Histories by Herodotus on our shelf today. I read about 4 pages, maybe. However, what I was struck by was the tone in which he is writing history. He sounds so conversational, like, "Yep, this happened... then this guy stole this guy's wife and killed this guy - that's how the war happened." Still hard to follow and possibly stale, but I liked it. It made me want to go to Greece.
I also love history because I think learning about the past is refreshing. Living in such an extremely future-oriented society, sometimes it's nice to hop off that train. Especially having been on that train thus far - it's always about the next thing... and finally getting to some kind of end goal.
The other day Jordan asked me what I will do when I'm retired. What? To actually be at a point where there is potentially fewer pressure on "the next thing." To actually retire. Of course I said, "Well, I guess I'd want to be hanging out with my hypothetical grandchildren." To enjoy the future and not have to work towards it.
I often try to pause and reflect, but sometimes life feels that its moving so fast that there's no time to pause. Pausing means missing out on something, or missing your chance - at least, to me. It's hard to even sit here and "work on my blog" because - for what? Should this be heading towards an end goal of publishing or something?
Nope.
This is why I like history, yet don't spend enough time in it. When you read history, you're reminded that there have been whole civilizations which have risen and fallen and been corrupted and damaged the earth. There have also been incredible advances, precarious times, and moments when people thought the world was ending. As the writer of Ecclesiastes repeats, "There is nothing new under the sun" and "there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity." There's something sobering about that, especially as I watch the flowers blossom and fall.
"Human prosperity never abides long in the same place" somehow, to me, gives us permission to "settle down" sometimes and maybe even make mistakes. Those beautiful and fortunate mistakes that hopefully teach us something and nurture our wisdom.
Here are some clips from our most recent history... or herstory, if you will...
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| Summer chasing the birds |
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| The Dune |
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| The gorgeous blossoms in our backyard |
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| When it randomly snowed one morning |
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| The surreal Tamolitch Pool |
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