True story from the 1990’s, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
An eccentric farmer loved collecting paintings. In his free time, he went to local auctions and whenever an old painting came on sale, he’d bid for it. He collected more than five hundred canvases. With too many to hang, he simply piled them up, keeping some in his chicken sheds. He did not take time to describe the beauty he saw in these paintings to his children. Not surprisingly, his children did not share his passion. When he died, they put the paintings on sale via a Sotheby’s catalogue.
A great art expert looking through this catalogue was particularly struck by one of these paintings. The photograph, no larger than a postage stamp, showed rampaging people setting fire to a large building and making off with loot. It was listed as the Sack of Carthage by Pietro Testa, a little known artist of the seventeenth century. While the farmer bought this particular painting in the 1940’s for a mere $12, it was estimated to go for $15,000 with Sotheby’s.
The art expert was struck by one incongruous detail. One of the looters was making off with a seven branched candelabrum, which was inconsistent in depicting the Sack of Carthage. Rather, he thought it might be a portrait of Romans destroying the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
A great seventeenth century artist, Nicholas Poussin, had painted two portraits of the Second Temple. One was hanging in an art museum in Vienna. The other had disappeared from public view sometime in the eighteenth century. No one knew what had happened to it. With a shock, this art expert viewing the Sotheby’s catalogue realized he was looking at this missing painting!
With a credible reputation and high initial bid at the auction, others followed suit believing he knew something they did not. The art expert eventually bought it for $155,000. A few years later he sold it for its true worth, $4.5 million, to Lord Rothschild who donated it to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem where it hangs today. How could such an important painting fly under the radar for so long?
Complacency Kills
In my Navy SEAL training and deployments, we were constantly reminding one another, “complacency kills”. While rehearsing advanced special operations, we would always reinforce the basics, taking nothing for granted. None of the advanced maneuvers worked if we fumbled the basics.
It’s human nature to take things for granted once received, attained, or even more challenging - - given. Everything important needs requisite appreciation. Otherwise, we lack the natural incentive to keep it going, leaving it at risk to fade away.
This past July, when celebrating Independence Day with my family, I explained to my children why we light up the sky with immaculate fireworks. It’s more than simply America’s Birthday. It’s a reminder of how precious our freedom is. Knowing no different, it’s hard for them to imagine otherwise. I explained there are countries where people lack the freedom to speak their mind, let alone pursue their dreams. Among other reasons, this makes America special, worthy of our gratitude every day, and especially so on the 4th of July.
While problems grab our attention, we must proactively express gratitude for what we have, and teach others to do the same. Do you value your education or simply recoil at the stressful process? When asked about work, is your instinct to only rattle off frustrations? After ten years of marriage, do you still date your spouse? Sure, deal with problems, but not at the cost of forgetting to appreciate what you have.
Authored By: Adam Weiner, Director
