Today’s Wisdom: And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling. Shanti
By Bill D. Ward
I was sitting around a table having coffee with a bunch of old guys recently when the topic of electric fences came up. It seems most of the guys have had a run-in with an electric fence at some time in their younger years.
I remember my own experience very well. I was ducking under a fence and didn’t quite duck low enough. I touched the wire with my shoulder blade and suddenly found myself on the ground three feet out beyond the fence. My experience was actually quite tame compared to others.
We had some hearty laughs as the stories were told, but also realized how dangerous those things were as we heard about burns and even more serious injuries from the current.
It occurred to me as I listened that we were sharing stories few today would relate to. I’ll bet none of my kids have ever even seen an electric fence, let alone had the experience of becoming airborne from its contact. What a loss for them, to be so shielded from life’s greatest adventures.
Actually, where do today’s kids get their adventures? In the 1950s and 60s we roamed the whole countryside and town, gathering adventures wherever we found them. There were no adults around. They must have trusted us to behave on our own. At least 80 percent of the time that was appropriate. Somehow we all made it, and none of us have done jail time.
I fear too much of today’s adventure is found in front of a video screen. I think that is a great loss. I found a quote from the Morris Institute that seems relevant. “An adventurous approach to life is a requirement for becoming the person you are capable of being, making your mark in the lives of others, and experiencing a sense of lasting fulfillment along the way.”
Maybe the adventures we gathered on our path are the reason so many of the older folks I know today are really neat people. I’m just sayin’.