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Just a hole in the water...
Sep. 6th, 2008 08:38 amThere's an old Chinese story that is supposed to teach humility. The leader of the town comes to a wise man and says he is worried that his people cannot do without him, yet he longs to leave. The wise man asks him to bring a pot filled with water. "Now place your hand in the water". The man does so. "Now withdraw your hand". He follows the instructions of the wise man. "The hole you leave in the water is the gap you will leave in this town" he tells the man.
This post isn't really about humility; it's about legacy.
Yesterday, I was clearing out junk in the office. It doesn't much matter how much junk I clear out; there is always more. But in doing so, I came across a bundle of letters that I inherited when my Aunt died. The letters were mostly from her fiance and then husband, and from her cousin - written in a period starting about 1940 and going through to 1953.
At that time of course, no email, no texting, no cell phones. The soldiers fighting in WWII corresponded with their loved ones by army-approved (and censored) mail. Re-reading some of the letters my Aunt had received was a revelation about that period. Much of the talk initially was about marriage plans; but as the war took its toll on England, the talk turned to more mundane yet immediate concerns - "Are you back on a small loaf ration?" - "We have bananas here!". There were other interesting aspects too - the handwritten note required by army policy on the envelope "I solemnly swear on my honour that this letter contains no information other than that relating to family matters". Many of the letters contained poignant and personal notes; protestations of affection and love; and touching anecdotes of life in a time of war.
I plan one day to convert these letters to web format so that our family can enjoy and share them in the future. But that got me to thinking about today's young people. What memories will they have of their early romances and their concerns? Email? IM transcripts? Logs of text messages? This and future generations are likely to be quite different to our own - leaving no gap in the pot of water.
This post isn't really about humility; it's about legacy.
Yesterday, I was clearing out junk in the office. It doesn't much matter how much junk I clear out; there is always more. But in doing so, I came across a bundle of letters that I inherited when my Aunt died. The letters were mostly from her fiance and then husband, and from her cousin - written in a period starting about 1940 and going through to 1953.
At that time of course, no email, no texting, no cell phones. The soldiers fighting in WWII corresponded with their loved ones by army-approved (and censored) mail. Re-reading some of the letters my Aunt had received was a revelation about that period. Much of the talk initially was about marriage plans; but as the war took its toll on England, the talk turned to more mundane yet immediate concerns - "Are you back on a small loaf ration?" - "We have bananas here!". There were other interesting aspects too - the handwritten note required by army policy on the envelope "I solemnly swear on my honour that this letter contains no information other than that relating to family matters". Many of the letters contained poignant and personal notes; protestations of affection and love; and touching anecdotes of life in a time of war.
I plan one day to convert these letters to web format so that our family can enjoy and share them in the future. But that got me to thinking about today's young people. What memories will they have of their early romances and their concerns? Email? IM transcripts? Logs of text messages? This and future generations are likely to be quite different to our own - leaving no gap in the pot of water.
