It was just a day spent fishing with his dad, but the famous biographer James Boswell spoke of it often. He remembered it fondly in his adulthood, and even recounted many details of what his father had taught him that day.
Boswell (1740-1795) found acclaim as the biographer of Samuel Johnson, but his father was relatively unknown. Many years later, after both Boswell and his dad had passed away, the older man’s journal came to light. Someone was able to cross check his entry for that date which had meant so much to his son.
He had written, “Gone fishing today with my son; a day wasted.”
There must be eight or ten lessons here, but two things are clear. First, we can be blissfully unaware of how much our life is impacting others. Second, even the smallest kindness and investment of our time can produce huge dividends in relationships and life experience.
There is a third thing: how very differently two people can view the same experience. We view things differently because we value things differently. That’s part of what makes the Golden Rule golden. Our own joy in spending time with our loved ones will increase exponentially when we see things from their point of view.
We must not judge the elder Boswell too harshly. It was a totally different era. But we should be able to see that while we are making someone’s day, we also can make our own, once we learn that the sparkle in a little boy’s eyes is the real treasure.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12