Reflection This Week
BURNED-DOWNED LIBRARIES

   There is an old African saying, I am told, that reminds us of a truth we often overlook and the younger generation often either forgets or dismisses. “Every time an old person dies, a library burns down.” I am especially reminded of this truth because three of these libraries have recently been, if not burned down, certainly had their doors closed forever. My regret is that I did not spend nearly enough time perusing and pursuing the wisdom each of them contained; not at all.

   These three libraries were a combined 270 years old. They had names: Huron “Cookie” Adams, 97; Maggie Smith, 87; and the youngster of the three, Bob Bickel, 86. When they died, there appeared the usual inadequate and understated information about them in the local obituaries. But no obit can ever even begin to tell of the influence that a person has on others, countless others, in fact. That is certainly true of these three, but it also true of those who receive no more than several lines. Even those who die anonymously, perhaps especially those who die in that manner, have much to teach us.

   As we grow older, we become a treasure trove of learning and information. We, each of us, no matter how dull and boring we think our lives to be, can write many books about what we have learned, especially what we learned the hard way. In those autobiographies we would often note how we could have avoided much pain and suffering had we been ready and willing and open to read the books the elders among us were writing by their very lives. But we did not.

   Why as young people we often think our elders have nothing much to teach and why as those elders we often think we have nothing much to pass down is one of life’s great mysteries. It was not that way once upon a time, a time not too long ago, a time when respect came with age and the wisdom and experience of the aged was considered a source of awe, reverence and respect. That time seems to have passed.

   Perhaps part of the problem today is that the high-speed technological times in which we live give us the impression that it is the younger generation who has much to teach the older generation and not the other way around. “Why should we read those old books when they are so outdated?” the young ask. The fact is, of course, like all those old parables of Jesus, there is always something new to learn no matter how old the wisdom or the teacher.

   We live in fast times when the latest gadget is already old by the time it hits the market. We spend so much trying to catch up that we dare not slow down and certainly not stop and spend some time with those living libraries. After all, we may not want to hear what they have to say let alone what they have to ask, such as, “What’s your hurry?”

   Each of us has a library or two in our lives we probably have not visited recently. Cookie, Maggie and Bob remind me, and I hope they remind you, that it might be a good time to spend some time with these libraries. They have much to teach us no matter what our age and we still have much to learn whether we believe it or not. Once their doors are closed, the will be closed forever.        WJP