Speaker 1
But in times where action is needed, don't analyze t you know what to do. Just do it. There was two chapters later on his journey as a single man, still, jacob arrived at a well and was blocked by a stone. The shepherds gathered around. There were awaiting developments. They would just, you know what they wernd. They wanted enough people to arrive, and when they were all there, then they'd go ad and water their flocks. Jacob walked up to the well, simply rolled the large boulder that covered the well away. And he proceeded to the flocks to make it available. That was chapter 29. A little while later, his beautiful cousin, rachel arrives. What did jacob do? Just think about a weak man in at a party or at a bar, and sees a beautiful woman. What do so many guys do? They sort of covertly ogle her while they await developments. You know, they wait. They sot out of the corner of their eyes, they take a look at her, or they adjust their chair at the bar so they can look at her the corner of their eyes. And meanwhile, they're just looking at her. Nothing's happening. That's what many, many guys do. Jacob, he didn't do that. Did he surreptitiously appoint a wing man to approachon his behalf? No, he didn't do that. Jacob seized the initiative. He planted a big, wet kiss on her lips. That's chapter gen genesis, chapter 29, verse 11. Now, i'll be the first to admit that this is surprising behaviour for someone we tend to think of as quiet, saintly sort of chap. And of course, there is deep meaning to the hebrew text. But the straightforward meaning of the text still stands. Being saintly does not mean reacting to life. It means seizing life with both ands. Ant, acting. Don't think. Just do. And this is one of the reasons that in the book of proverbs, chapter six, verse six, solomon advises all of us with slight tendencies to laziness to learn from the ant. And as bert haldobler and edward wilson abundantly demonstrate in their magnificent ant book, which sits right here in front of me on my shelf, ants never sit around waiting for developments, and neither should you. Whether it concerns a personal relationship that needs initiating, although, by the way, i'd recommend caution with that impulsive kiss idea. Ok, maybe that's not for everybody.