JOY ALONG THE WAY: FROM PLATO TO MRS. RACCOON

Sometimes, if I losen my firm grip on the relationship between butterflies and phlox, the awareness of the pecking order at the bird bath, the identification of bird song, I slip into what I call the Dismal Pond of trying to understand the philosophies of old Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and others. I can barely keep my head above water in such a pond of intangibles, abstractions and brain blowouts.

In Plato's writings we find this, "The life which is unexamined is not worth living."

"Unexamined by whom?" I sputter, spitting out Dismal Pond water. "The individual? Others?"

Perhaps if I revisited Plato's "Republic," "Apology," "Symposium," etc. I could answer my above questions. But time is fleeting and philosophical reading is done in slow motion-- read, think, read, think. So, to keep from drowning I make up my own dialogue, a form of writing for which Plato is well known.

If the unexamined life is not worth living, it follows that certainly we want to live an examined life, don't we? How proceed? Who better to do this than the individual if he be true to himself, that is, with his examination questions?

What then would be the first question? In my simplemindedness, I wish Plato would have offered a first one, and others too, just plain black and white questions such as, "Are y_ou truthful? Are you honest? What do you hold to be of highest value? How about your virtues? Name some."

It seems to me the first question, maybe the only needful one, would be, "Do I have an absoltue, a true anchor, a base, a center from which all other facets of life radiate like spokes from a wagon wheel that are held in place by the hub, or do I swing in the changing winds?"

In some of my writings I have Mrs. Raccoon trying to explain the reality of such an anchor to Little Mocker, recently come into the world with no knowledge of such a thing.

Mrs. Raccoon speaks of this anchor from which all other virtues spring as The Keeper of All Creatures (God, Allah, Creator, Great Spirit, etc.). She says, "He is in and out and roundabout amongst us all the time, always ready to lif us up and straighten us out when we make mistakes and He loves us all the time whether we're lovable or not . . ." Little Mocker's heart beat faster. "How do you know all this?" . . . "It has been handed down," Mrs. Raccoon replied. "But even it it hadn' been, there are times you just know there is Someone greater than we are, whether anyone has told us or not . . ." Little Mocker purused, "But sometimes we do get smashed, all to bits." . . ."Oh, true, Mrs. Raccoon said sorrowfully. "But that's not because the Keeper isn't there. He lets us have our own way, and sometimes we make whopper-sized mistakes. But is it/better to be free, risk the mistakes and rely on His help than to be held by a chain or trap or cage and be ordered to to this or that, go here or there . . ." "He doesn't have a chain?" Little Mocker asked. . ."His chain, if you can call it that is unseen. It doesn't wear any scuff marks around your neck or blisters on your ankles. If you feel it at all, it is maybe like a warm sunbeam, and who can tear- up a sunbeam? It's - warm feeling inside like you've come under His care and know it."

Little Mocker felt that if he ever got connected to this chain it would be all he needed to know, the only question he would have to answer should he be called up on the Grassy Meadow stump and asked to explain himself.

I suppose Plato's brow, along with many others, would wrinkle at my trying to start an examination of one's life with the question of whether you were anchored to this Absolute even though it be as intangible as a sunbeam and that aLl otheanswers,to self examination quesions would come easy. But maybe kids would understand and raccoons and mockingbirds.

REJOICE!

~Jean Bell Mosley is an author and longtime columnist for the Southeast Missourian.