Thinking Out Loud, Volume, CCLXXXIII

I had really intended to eat that banana. I opened the shell, took out the fruit, and was just about to take a bite when my phone rang. It was a business call and required immediate attention. Soon I was engrossed in my work, which took quite a while to complete; all this time that forgotten banana was lying right where I left it, patiently waiting to be consumed. It was not to be. With one project leading to another, I soon found that my day was spent with no more thought being given to that hapless piece of fruit...until the next morning.

I started out my day bumbling and fumbling around, trying to get myself in gear, and I stumbled across that banana....still lying there in all its yuckiness. Since I make it a policy to try to eat at least one banana a day, that would've been a good time to eat one...but not that one. It was worthless. In less than twenty-four hours, that delicious piece of nutrition had been transformed from being desirable to being repulsive. Then I looked over at the bananas that were still in the bowl, and they were still good, although they had been there when I picked up the one that was now about to be thrown into the trash can. Why? What was the difference? They were all from the same bunch....siblings. You see, the ones in the bowl were still encased in their shells, their primary source of preservation and protection. With me being the philosophical person that I am, I thought that there must be some kind of lesson to be learned from that scenario...like when we step outside the surroundings of the ones who are there to protect and care for us, we are expediting our own destruction.

Then I looked back at the banana and I saw something else that up until that point had gone unnoticed...the peel, the protector. It was in worse shape than the fruit itself. Looking back at the others still in the bowl, I saw that all those peels still looked healthy. I thought the protector was supposed to be stronger, more durable. In fact, its only reason for existence was to surround and preserve the banana inside. Although by that time the fruit had deteriorated to a point that I would consider in inedible, it had actually lasted longer than its protector. How could that be? Here's what I think: Although it was now outside its protective surroundings and was completely vulnerable to the world, there was still a chance that someone would want it. There was still a purpose in life. The shell, on the other hand, was no longer of any use to anyone or anything, therefore its death came much more quickly.

So, Mr. Philosopher, is there a lesson in this story? Yes, there is. Several, actually. But here's the one I want to focus on right now: I don't know when, or if, I'll ever decide to retire. Whether I do or don't is really not the issue. What's important is that I never ever lose my purpose for being here. Whether I'm the protector or the protectee, when I get to the point to where I no longer have a purpose in life, I'm a goner. So, if for any reason, you need me, please don't stop. You're what's keeping me alive.

Preston