Five years from now you'll be the same person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet.

-Charles E. Jones




Thursday, June 30, 2011

An Observant Outlook

"Jean Nicolet, the Frenchman who cruised the straits from Lake Huron and who donned the mandarin's robes when he went ashore at Green Bay, in the belief that the fresh-water seas had led him to the Orient, was the first in a long procession.  He did not find what he expected to find, but he at least learned that the world was a great deal bigger than he had thought it was." (Catton, Bruce. Michigan: A Bicentennial History. 1976.)

This quote came my way in a book of Michigan history.  It struck me as a bit funny.  This poor guy travels halfway around the world and gets all dressed up to meet the Chinese, and all he encounters is a plant-filled wilderness full of Native Americans, not Chinese; yet the best thing the commentator can say for him is that he learned how big the world is!  I suppose he did learn that, but was that truly the lesson he learned, or the only one he learned?  What about preparation and research, new experiences, paradigms, etc.  However, I do believe that the quotation does have a moot point.
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One of the great banes of life is the inability to change and, conjunctively, the inability to learn.  If, however, I can examine each situation in life, especially those considered failures, and learn form them even a trite lesson, I can continue to learn and will never become stagnant.
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Even though the author's comment seems a bit understated, at least he learned from this situation a small lesson.  At least he was not oblivious.
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The lesson I learned from the author was this: always look for a lesson to be learned.

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