A Cup of Conversation – June 2015

Mary recently suggested I update the profile photo on this column. I asked her why and she said the image didn’t really look like me anymore. I’m trying not to read too much into that but image and perception are primarily manipulated by what we see and therefore believe. This reveals how vulnerable we are in a digital culture. It’s too easy to be fooled in a photoshop world. Is this why we’re all a little neurotic about having our picture taken? The camera lies and tells the truth, making us very insecure in a society that worships youth and beauty.

Our daughter lives in a selfie-generation. I’m sure the fact she can’t take a bad pic adds to this obsession but how does that explain the self-snapping mass-neurosis? A recent article in a major news journal coined our generation the Age of Narcissism. The mythological Narcissus was so enamored by his own reflection, he drowned in the pool of water giving him so much love. Let’s teach our kids more Greek mythology but, please, not at the expense of non-revisionist history. Knowing the truth, good and bad, of where we’ve been is critical to knowing where we’re headed. Narcissus was too preoccupied blinking selfies to care and look what happened to him.

Three-thousand years ago, the wisest man on earth said there is nothing new under the sun and what has been is sure to be repeated. Solomon was an ancient king and the son of David. When Solomon was of age to rule, God spoke to Solomon in a dream and offered him anything he desired. A young Solomon asked for the wisdom to rule his people righteously. God said because he chose rightly and did not ask for long life, wealth or death of his enemies that Solomon would receive honor, wealth and long life in addition to wisdom. Some scholars estimate Solomon’s wealth to have been around a trillion dollars in today’s money. Solomon’s gift of wisdom was so prolific, heads of state from the known world would pilgrimage to Israel bringing incalculable treasure to honor the king, sit at his feet and gain insight from his wisdom. Solomon spent his later years recording this wisdom known as the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The irony is Solomon lived years miserable and disillusioned probably because he didn’t listen to God when taking hundreds of wives and concubines, all demanding a piece of him. That’s hard to imagine…

Solomon could afford to gorge on pleasure, leisure and power because he never knew war in his reign as king. The wisest and wealthiest man to ever live didn’t practice the wisdom he preached and never found contentment in possessions, position, or peace. I think Solomon is the ultimate picture of man left to his own end. Solomon eventually came back to acknowledge the simple truth of things and make right with his patient God.

We’re all prone to error like Narcissus and Solomon. It’s interesting to note that for sixty years our generation, the most indulgent, wealthiest and powerful in history, had not known war on our homeland soil, not until 9/11. What has been is sure to be repeated.

We’re well past the point of no return in this age of self-absorption. Politics, ideology, technology, science, art, entertainment, commerce and mass-marketed spirituality are all infected. Only when the bonfire of vanities burns down the idols built in our own image can we see clearly enough to learn from our mistakes. The Greeks, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Romans and the greater than the son of David already taught us this lesson. I guess we simply forgot about the vain fool Narcissus…and I neglected to change out my too-youngish profile pic on this month’s column. There (really) is nothing new under the sun.

Check out Michael’s blog @ www.wordperk.com for more articles on small town living and real life reflections.