As I was walking the other day, I came across something lying in the dirt, hidden away under a bush. A dirty, tattered piece of silk cloth, a banner I knew well. As I looked down upon it, I thought of the men who had carried it and the men who had marched behind it.
I knew when I picked it up that some still carried it. I knew that others carried banners that ranged from almost identical to vastly different, yet still called their banner by the same name. I knew that they were not the same and never could be.
I took that banner home and cleaned and mended it as best I could. I did not have the skill of those who made it. It would never be the same.
As I sat there holding it, I remembered seeing in the distance, those who carried it and marched behind it. I did my best to follow where they trod. They had blazed the trail that others followed. I know that at times I lost the path. I took the harder way. Yet in my mind was that banner, always there, somewhere in front of me. I knew others had stopped along the way. some could not continue, and returned home to the life they once lived. Others went off in their own direction, under the banners they made for themselves.
As I held the old banner, I cried for what had once been. What now seemed gone forever. Have they all gone by the wayside I asked? Have they taken a different path that I have not found? The vanguard has vanished and I have found nought but traces of those who formed the second ranks. Sometimes I still catch sight of the rearguard of that host of men. By ones and twos they still lead the way. I believe they still lead the way. I still do my best to follow where they lead.
I ask myself what should be done with the old banner? Should one of those I still find be given it? Would they take it? Would others follow it if it were raised once more? I sit here pondering those questions.
Should there be those who lead and set the standard for others to follow? Should not each man be sufficient unto himself and find his own way forward, wherever that may lead him? Many of those who have made their own banners and seek followers would say that they should lead, and all should follow them. Others say that they seek their own path, and you may follow if you wish, but they travel for themselves, not to help others.
I look back and know that there are some who follow behind me, sometimes watching for the markers I have left. They have never seen those who once led the way, only those who followed far behind. What should be done for them?
For now...I sit beside the fire holding an old piece of silk, a banner
that once proudly flew, and ask questions. I do not have the answers. Do
you?
Revised 29/12/01