Just two weeks ago if asked what kind of squirrels do you have in your neighborhood I would have responded, “Gray and red.” I had no idea that we had flying squirrels. It seems they are nocturnal and since I am diurnal I had no knowledge of these big eyed creatures. But for the past two weeks one has taken up residence at night at our bird feeder.
I am delighted to learn something new about my own backyard but at the same time I am a bit chagrined regarding my ignorance. It has been a good experience for me. It reminds me of how little I really know. Occasionally someone will phone me asking a Bible question. When I was much younger I would pontificate answers with great authority. However, as the years have passed by, I have become aware of the vastness of Scripture and my very minuscule knowledge. Also, some of what I thought was so I now know isn’t or wasn’t so.
The smartest time in my life was when I graduated from high school. It has been an intellectual downhill journey ever since. I have discovered that the more education one obtains the more aware they become of how much there is to learn and how little we know and how little time there is to learn more. Once I heard someone bragging about her education and wondered if she got her degree from a Cracker Jack box.
If you would enjoy the treat of being humbled, just spend a few evenings on a clear night enjoying the two thousand plus individual stars we can see with our unaided eye. If that were all there was we would be overwhelmed. But there is so much more, much more, much more, much more to learn.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 18, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org