ARROW AND BOW

Years ago, a wise book I was reading suggested that I need both an arrow and a bow in my life: I need to be sharp and piercing like the arrow, but I also need the smoothness and suppleness of the bow. I need to be strong but also sympathetic, incisive but also easygoing. The arrows of my thoughts and actions can pierce to the heart of things only if launched by the flexible bow of tenderness and leniency. True, I want to be a warrior in these senior-citizen days of mine, a strong old soldier who’s not afraid to fling arrows at strong old foes like fear and listlessness, not afraid to pierce when things need piercing. However, the arrows will float feebly to the ground unless launched by the powerful forces of kindness and consideration. This 71-year-old knight in somewhat shabby armor knows that nimbleness is as essential as sharpness.