The cycle continues

I had just stepped out of the shower and put on my underwear and one sock when I heard a knocking on the door. I grabbed my housecoat and headed out of the bedroom to see who was there, and through my studio window I saw two elderly ladies dressed in good quality raincoats and carrying briefcases.

I remembered a similar circumstance years earlier when I lived on Quadra Island and had just stepped out of a shower. I knew instantly what I was in for and smiled inside.

"May I help you?" I asked with a big grin as I opened the door and leaned through the doorway, my wet hair sticking out all over my head. "I've just got out of the shower."

"Oh, we just came by to leave you a message," said the Jehovah Witnesses as one leaned down and picked up the Good News leaflet they had slipped under the door. "It's about life in a peaceful new world."

"I have my own understanding," I commented while leafing through the little document.

"Do you believe in God," they asked.

"I believe in a greater force," I replied. "But I don't necessarily always use the word God."

We talked for a few minutes about the conditions of the planet and the need for change before it's too late. "We have to look to God to make those changes to save the Earth," they commented.

"Don't you think we put too much stake on outside forces rescuing us rather than doing something ourselves?" was my reply.

"There will be a new world. The Bible tells us that God will take care of us," they continued.

I paused for a few moments and thought of words spoken by Cicero in response to a question from Clodius about it being modern times:

They always are, Clodius. Why do men deceive themselves that the past is not the present, the future the past? Every age has shouted "We are a new era!" Yet it is always the same, for man does not change. Has it not been said that the nation that does not learn from history is doomed to repeat its mistakes? Ages yet unborn shall say, "None other was ever like us." But they shall be as Rome.
(from Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell.)

I then turned to the two ladies and said, "There have been other writings, such as those of Cicero, a lawyer in Ancient Rome, and there have been similar words given by civilizations throughout the history of humankind. It's a big cycle we're on, for nothing changes. Civilizations come and go. The cycle needs to be broken and this will only come about if there is a change in human nature."

"We'll come back some other time when you haven't just stepped out of the shower," the ladies said with a smile. As they walked away they continued, "We'd like to hear a bit more about your understanding."

I went back into the house to put on my other sock and finish getting dressed.