But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Bob Dylan
When I greet the day, am I its master or its servant? And what do I serve? In the torah study group I attend we have finally…finally!…come to the part where Jacob wrestles with the angel. Well, almost. We’re still right before, where Jacob sends his wives and children and livestock across the shallow part of a small river.
The passage reads like Cormac McCarthy, with two herds being kept separate in the drive. I can really relate to all this, because for much of the autumn I was off on my own. This was particularly true of two weeks of near solitude at Agate Fossil Beds in Nebraska. Personally, I can’t really wrestle with things when I’m surrounded by other people. Jacob crosses the river in the morning, after the angel puts out his hip joint. I came home, maybe limping a little from my encounter with forces beyond myself.
I think I’m more comfortable as servant than as master. Personality? Gender? What about you?
Miriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond 
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Guest and host
This came to mind too. But when are you the guest and when the host?
The older I get, the more I think I need to be the master of myself and be the servant of others. In fact, the more I think about it, if I do one well then it’s easier to achieve the other.
What a beautiful idea! Thank you.
“When I greet the day, am I its master or its servant?” I pose this question to myself every single day. It’s a question of balance, which I find hard to achieve. I want to be its master, but often am flailing as its servant, only focusing attention on what external parties are demanding instead of balancing those with my own priorities and needs.
That’s very thoughtful–thank you for adding in.