THE NUANCES OF A NAME
THE NUANCES OF A NAME
JACK EANS
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
ONE OF THE EARLIEST GIFTS A CHILD RECEIVES IS A NAME
The other day I met a man named “Oncemore.” He was the 3rd of 3 boys born to parents who desperately wanted a girl. So with two boys they tried once more. Funny? Sad? It doesn’t matter — he shared his identity with pride.
We call ourselves “Horizon.” But why? What is a horizon anyway? Is it a destination or a journey, does it have a beginning or an end, or is it endless? When we gaze out upon a horizon, are we asking what’s beyond or over it as if it holds a wonderful mystery to discover, or is it just a vast haze, never within reach?
We usually use “horizon” when speaking of a sunrise: a new and brighter day ahead. And yet a horizon also holds the sunset. Some would see its orange fading to purple turning to black as counting down to an inevitable end.
Some children see it this way — waking up to darkness from the loss of the only light they had as parents, family, love and belonging sink into the sea. Will their horizon ever see the sun again? It’s a great name, I think. Our identity holds within it all these possible nuances. One child may see the horizon as a distant yet constant reminder of their drifting at sea.
“To another it is a dream – something to sail into and beyond – bringing that new day. A source of comfort, though the storm may rage – a sign of hope that the dark night will not last forever. “
The only thing that matters is how will they answer the question of what Horizon meant to them. Were we only a life raft, or were we a sailboat, filling their sails with the winds of hope to reach a new destiny? We can and must define it with heart, but it matters more how each child defines it by hope. We call ourselves “Horizon”. But by what name will we be known?
