I am finding a regular columnist in the Daily Oklahoman good reading. Charlotte Lankard writes, “Learn to forgive, then teach others.”
Charlotte introduces her piece with this quote,
“One day, I would like to teach just a few people many and beautiful things that would help them when they will one day teach a few people.”
She continues,
“Thirty years ago, I wrote this in the front of a journal. It was a quote from Susanna Hunter, an older friend of mine when I was a young mother.”
Lost Lake is nestled in an out of the way place among the acres and acres that make up “Cedar Lake Sportsman’s Club.” We grew up fishing it, riding motorcycles around it and skipping rocks arcoss it and from bank to bank. Every now and then we would run on to a huge rock. Calling on every ounce of energy we would hurl the rock high and far. We would admire the loud splash. Our chests would swell at the feat. Missed on us at that age were the waves that would emanate from huge rock penetrating the surface of the water. Rings would form around the place where the rock entered. Those rings would travel until they either reached the bank or reached the end of the the energy given them by the rock.
Reading Charlotte’s quote reminded me of our summer fun. Now I think more about the rings initiated by the rock than the splash it created. We live life looking for splashes to make when we might be better served concentrating on the rings. What would you be learning? What would you be teaching?