The Altar
Stone: Sometimes the Journey Is
More Important Than the Destination
By John P. Slosek, Jr. — The Insurance Coach™
Every once in a while, I stumble across a story or a part of history that refuses
to leave my mind. This past week it was Stonehenge. It truly captivated me. I
don’t like this thought process but the process of moving this Altar Stone from
Scotland to England was an impossibility. It weighed 6 tons.
Like millions of others, I've seen photographs of those
enormous stones standing silently on the Salisbury Plain in England. But it
wasn't the towering stones that captured my attention this time.
It was one stone lying quietly near the center of the monument, the Altar
Stone.
Recent scientific research suggests this single stone
originated nearly 500 miles away in what is now northeastern Scotland. Imagine
that for just a moment. Thousands of years before engines, railroads, cranes,
steel cables, or even the wheel was commonly used in Britain, people somehow
transported a six-ton sandstone block across rivers, rugged terrain, and
perhaps stretches of open water to reach its final resting place. No one knows
exactly how they accomplished it, but somehow, they did. And that's the part
that stopped me in my tracks. Not because they moved the stone. But because
they believed it was worth moving. The question that has echoed in my mind ever since is wonderfully simple: Why?
Why devote years of labor?
Why ask countless people to work together on something none of them might live
long enough to see completed?
Why spend millions of hours accomplishing something that appeared to offer no
immediate reward? The research I have done has given me different assessments
of work hours it took to build Stonehenge. It is between 20 million and 30
million work hours. Again, in my mind, I ask the question, Why?
History doesn't give us a clear answer. But perhaps life does.
Too often today we judge everything by immediate results. We
want success this month. We want the promotion this year. We want our
investments to grow overnight. We want our businesses to flourish quickly. If
something requires years of patient effort, many people simply walk away. Yet
Stonehenge whispers a different lesson.
Great things rarely happen quickly.
Whether you're building a business, raising a family,
restoring your health, repairing a broken relationship, or leaving behind a
meaningful legacy, some of life's greatest accomplishments require thousands of
small decisions repeated faithfully over time. No single day built Stonehenge.
One stone didn't create history. One worker didn't create the monument. One
afternoon didn't accomplish the impossible. It happened because ordinary people
continued showing up. Again, and again, and again. As I thought about that
Altar Stone, I couldn't help but compare it to our own lives. Every one of us
carries an "altar stone."
For some, it's a lifelong dream. For others, it's caring for an aging parent.
Perhaps it's rebuilding after bankruptcy. Recovering from illness. Starting
over after losing a spouse. Building a company from nothing. Helping children
become responsible adults. Writing a book. Teaching others. Serving your
community. None of these journeys are easy.
The people who transported that stone almost certainly faced
setbacks. Bad weather. Injuries. Equipment failures. Days when progress
measured only a few feet. There must have been moments when someone asked,
"Is this really worth it?" Yet somehow, they continued. And nearly five thousand years
later...We're still talking about them. That may be the greatest lesson
Stonehenge has to offer. Your legacy is rarely determined by what comes easily.
It's determined by what you continue doing after the excitement has worn off.
The world celebrates finished monuments.
History remembers faithful builders. Perhaps the greatest
tragedy isn't that our dreams are too big. It's that we often quit too soon.
Stonehenge reminds us that extraordinary achievements are
usually nothing more than ordinary perseverance stretched across extraordinary
lengths of time. The builders never had social media. They never received
applause from millions. There were no newspaper headlines. No television
interviews. No awards banquet. There was simply another sunrise....another day
of work......another stone to move.
As I finish writing these thoughts, I find myself returning
once again to that simple question. Why?
Maybe we'll never know exactly why they carried that remarkable stone across
hundreds of miles. But perhaps we don't need to.
Because every time we choose patience over
impatience...Every time we keep going after disappointment...Every time we
continue building something worthwhile that future generations may someday
benefit from...We become a little more like those unknown builders. And maybe
that's the real monument they left behind. Not the stones. But the reminder
that almost anything becomes possible when people unite around a purpose
greater than themselves.
John P. Slosek Jr. is the founder of Slosek Insurance Corporation, established in 1984 and still serving clients today. For more than 40 years, John has worked in the insurance industry helping individuals, families, and business owners better understand protection, risk, and financial responsibility. In addition to operating his and his wife’s insurance agency, John has spent over 30 years as a motivational and self-improvement speaker, focusing on common-sense life lessons, personal growth, and real-world decision-making.
John is also the host of The Insurance Coach® radio show, heard every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. on Classic Hits 97.7. www.classichits977.com (Hit Listen Live). The program combines insurance education, life experiences, motivational insight, and practical advice designed to help listeners make better decisions for themselves and their families. John proudly resides in Massachusetts with his family and enjoys spending time with his children, grandchildren and his two Golden Doodles Maggie & Morgan.
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