Balance

I remember when I chaired my son Paul’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I ended my encomiums with a reading of the Prayer of St. Francis. After all, I had taught him application, diligence in pursuing a goal, and a certain amount of risk taking, and I wanted to balance that with a thought that has helped form Western Civilization. I did right.

Today I read a review of The Adventurer’s Son in which the father memorializes the son who died crossing into Colombia over wicked jungle where drug gangs were rampant. There are some risks not worth taking. This is true of the psychic as well as the physical world. It’s no good to love danger.

Even though we want our sons and daughters to live their own lives, we can’t help but cry when they suffer dire consequences. Somehow, though, it’s all part of a magnificent panorama.