I've been pondering on the phrase, "all drains lead to the ocean." I believe this is a Disney take on the world-wide saying that 'all roads lead to Rome' although I don't know if that's really where it came from, that's what is certainly sounds like. Anyhow, it's an interesting thought though, and the more I use it the more meaning I see in it. This originally comes from Finding Nemo where the fish in the dentist's tank are trying to escape back to the ocean and try to get into any drain in the office, believing that it will lead them back to the ocean. In the end this is true, and Nemo is able to escape by going down the spit collector drain and later finding himself in Sydney Harbor. I thought it was a clever line and like it quite a bit.
I started to use this phrase on a weekly basis while I was serving as an office elder durring my mission. We would often have errands to run around the city and we wouldn't know how to get where we were going. My companions would sometimes get worried, but I told them over and over again that all drains lead to the ocean, and all roads lead to EDSA. Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue is a large (4-6 lanes in either direction) highway that entirly encompasses most of Metro Manila, if you drive long enough in any direction you will eventually end up back there. So they began to understand that whether not I knew where exactly I was going, we couldn't get too lost because we could always get back to the main roads which would lead us home.
Since being home I've realized that more and more of my life is centered around that idea. For instance, I've driven around Provo quite a bit, but I always get 'lost' around south campus. I just don't have the locations of different landmarks memorized so when I go in that area I just remember that all drains lead to the ocean, and I keep driving, right turn, left turn, right turn, left turn... until I finally drive by the place I'm looking for and it's all good (ok, honestly I don't just drive aimlessly, but you get the idea). Recently I've begun to understand it as a very gospel oriented subject. I may not know all the twists and turns, but I know that eventual out come. All we have to do is, "just keep swimming" and we'll get to where we need to be. Isn't that so true? We don't know which road we'll take, how I'll get there, but I'm headed in the general direction of the Celestial Kingdom and I expect I'll get there someday. Obviously not all roads lead there, but there is a general direction of paths that head there, and I like to think I'm on one of them.
It breaks down into everyday things too like temple marriage. I don't know who I'm going to marry, I don't know when or where, but I just keep swimming, right? Dating different people, finding what I like... it'll lead to the ocean someday, right? Or college, sure I don't know what my grades are right now, but I'm doing my best to head in the direction of graduation... I guess it can be kind of a lackadaisical view on life, but that's me :D It's an odd feeling sometimes when you're swimming and swimming and you don't see or feel the ocean yet. It takes faith and hope, and charity so that you stay happy on they trail.
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