Magnolia Leaves

Question and answer portions of any speech or presentation regardless of the topic can become surprisingly interesting, like the question of Dr. Armstrong's education history the first day!Some questions are deep and well thought and some refreshing or random. The random ones seem to always catch a laugh but never really inspire intense thinking; Saturday at the Hindu Temple Society of Augusta was different. The random question became the most important (at least to me).
A girl in the middle of the seating area of the temple a good distance from the presenter asked a question about the leaves above every door and if there was a significance. The question was random because the topic at the moment was about the representation of the Idols, nonetheless, it was answered by the lady. In short, the leaves above each door represent the sweetness and purity of Hindu worship and the beginning of a festival. Traditionally however those leaves are those of a mango tree but given the lack of a substantial mango trees in Augusta they choose to use magnolia leaves. Now on the surface level this meant nothing to me then I thought about it and it seems to me that despite personal beliefs people may have, we all put up substitutes for what is best or original in our lives; using magnolia leaves instead of mango to justify our own festivals. Essentially what I mean is we settle for things that are not meant for us or are a quick fix to a simple problem and never consider using what is best or what worked in the past. On a more basic level we can relate this to a dating relationship. People, in their need for love, and given the lack of “substantial opposite sex trees”, often fall victim to settling for a “magnolia” partner who instantly gratifies their needs never considering or searching for the optimal alternative and sweetness of a mango. In the context of Homer’s epic the Iliad and more specific the chariot race, we see the same settling. Menelaus won the race but for some reason the king settled for less and chose to honor another before him. It may be enough for some people to simply go with the moment or seize the day, but I’m in it for eternity and will not be content with settling for the ordinary. Thus is my goal in Humanities to finish the race and not settle for an ordinary understanding of the material. The remedy is to consider the original, the tradition or the things that have worked before. For many of us, despite what we want, not settling seems to be listening to our parental figures’ advice or those whose wisdom has been plenty before us and have shown the endurance needed to run the race and not bail for the obvious gratification.