A Defining Moment

One ordinary day at home I decided to have a banana for a snack. It was my favorite fruit in my puberty and adolescent years. And, it’s the only fruit I put on cold cereal now.

Peeling that banana was no different to what virtually all of us occasionally do. But, this one sparked an epiphany about life. It made me do some real soul-searching. And, because of the perspective on life it gave me, I think made me a better person.

The experience deeply affected how I think about what I am pursuing now as alluded to on the About Me tab in the iFrame above. It could bring immense wealth. However, given this experience and the illness mentioned in the video I gained a broader perspective on life. It’s more about “success” as defined by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the image below.

Even so, I will admit to occasionally having imaginations about two material things I might want to purchase. One would be my favorite instrument: a Steinway concert grand piano (which I could usually distinguish from other pianos after playing each one in close succession and blindfolded). Words cannot convey what my ears hear from that majestic instrument. But, before the Steinway, I would want to buy a log house with a 30 x 30 great room with some acoustical enhancements to insure attaining optimal sound from the piano. However, the experience with the banana has sharply curtailed me to think a lot less about buying material THINGS and to concentrate more on aspects of the “MISSION” defined in the iFrame above: thoughts of bringing it to fruition.

The lesson

A banana is recognized by its hull. The quality of the fruit is judged by its appearance: not ripe enough, just right, too ripe, or beginning to decay. Most importantly, the hull protects the delicate meat inside.

If the banana falls to the ground, the hull would shield the meat from collecting dirt particles that would make it inedible. The hull also protects the meat from the air, which would cause it to turn brown.

Your hull would consist primarily of your assets, profession, social status, and education. Just as a banana is judged by its hull, you are judged by your’s. However, never feel over confident by what comprises your hull. It CANNOT stop accidents, diseases, or bad circumstances, neither can it guarantee fulfillment.

Occasionally the news media gives disturbing and heartbreaking reports of noted people facing dire circumstances and/or suffering from illnesses that prove to be terminal. But, nothing that comprises their hulls could help them.

The reality is that just as it happens to them it could happen to you and me. It’s that split second in a day that could instantly turn our lives in completely different directions thereafter. It could peel away the worth of our hulls in a fraction of a second. What remains would be the “The real YOU/ME”: fragile and virtually helpless; no control over situations.

That would prove that life truly DOES NOT consist only of the abundance of things that one possesses. It would also prove what a person ultimately is in comparison to the perception that her/his hull gives others: nothing but a mere person. And, like everyone else, she/he is also one that experiences life’s vicissitudes, ages in the processes, eventually dies, decays, and is virtually forgotten by the masses.

When we see monuments, statues, or busts of deceased personalities how often do we notice people taking note of them to really learn what they were about? In my experiences, not very often. Thus, even with monuments, deceased personalities can be virtually forgotten.

About You

You undoubtedly have insurances on your personal possessions to protect yourself against financial loss in case of fire, accident, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters. You likely have health insurances so that you incur no financial losses from the cost of doctor visits, hospital bills, prescriptions, and other cost for health care. You likely have life insurances to cover your burial expenses and if you have a family it would be sufficient to guarantee their on-going and future financial security.

Paying the monthly premiums is what guarantees the coverage specified in the policies. Making the payments may require making some sacrifices: fewer new clothes, less dining out, smaller house and car, and etc. Whatever sacrifices necessary to have the monthly payments you make willingly because of the returns.

The question is, what assurance would one have for making the right decision when facing critical issues? Such instances are when it’s not uncommon to hear people refer to dependency on higher powers for guidance. And, too often people resort to so-called psychics and philosophical religions and ideologies for help with matters that are beyond human capabilities to resolve. They may even be relative to a spouse, children (regardless to ages), parent, or friend.

About Me

As for me, experiences have convinced me that my dependency must be on the God of the Bible. Me experiencing His manifestations in my life is the basis for the tab, Analytic Reasoning: the Catalyst for Evidence. 

Needless to say, when I peel a banana it triggers the memory of my epic experience. I truly believe that me having a broader perspective on life and human frailties will not change my persona when success comes from the patentable technology’s performance in commerce. It’s also because I want my legacy to testify of my contribution to society, especially in making the United States a better place at my demise than it was at my birth. My prediction is that every time you peel a banana you also will remember this article.

A Thought Provoking Poem

I heard “The Dash Poem” years ago, which obviously left an impression on me. Note the author, Linda Ellis, reciting it on YouTube:

My dash must be comprised of more than me making money. Otherwise, I would personify the cliche by the unknown who said, “he who lives to make money dies poorly”, just a “blip” in time with no memorial for having lived. Therefore, my dash must be comprised of letting my Light shine, i. e., living out my Spiritual convictions as described herein, and maximizing my potential in evangelism: perpetuating Spiritual, sociological, intellectual, & economic growth in communities. Thus, I would be absent from the body but present with the Lord and would have achieved success in life as defined by Ralph Waldo Emerson.