Not Just Another Brick in the Wall
Listening to the NYT podcast this morning about the reconstruction of Notre Dame reminded me of this story about Christopher Wren, the architect responsible for rebuilding St. Paul Cathedral. One day in 1671, Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing, and one standing tall, working very hard and fast. Wren asked the first bricklayer, “What are you doing?” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard, laying bricks to feed my family.” The second bricklayer responded, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” But the third bricklayer, the most productive of the three and the group's future leader, when asked, “What are you doing?” replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.” Some time ago, a friend left a conversation with me by asking me to consider, very broadly, how he could help me. I was a bit flabbergasted. I could not remember a time wh...