A Bit of Randomness
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. --Diane Arbus
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Out of the Mouths of Babes
Two events occured recently that have thrown me just a smidge off balance - and I'm still not certain why.
1) While walking with a friend and her children the other day, her youngest son turned to me and told me that Dylan was not actually my child but was G-d's. I may think that Dylan is mine but she is only given to me temporarily. While thoughts of Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" swirled through my head ("...Your children are not your children,
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but are not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you..."), I found myself actually unsettled. When my friend caught up to us, I furtively told her what happened - almost as if her son had said something "wrong". She just looked at me and said matter of factly, "well, that's what he believes." And that was the end of it.
Except in my head she continued on with, "and so what if he does? What's wrong with it?!?!" Because that's what I was really thinking. So what? I believe in G-d. I pray frequently and believe that talking to someone/thing more than myself is a good thing and exceedingly calming at times. My concept of G-d includes a Creator aspect and of course, to that end, we are all G-d's creations ultimately (yes, I'm being VERY simplistic here, ok?). So why did an innocent observation from a child throw me?
2) During a walk today with Eric and Dylan (amazing how much theology occurs while in Nature, eh??), Dylan found a beautifully colored leaf. She held it up to examine it, looked at me and Eric and asked, "Who made this leaf?" Eric and I were first stunned by the thought patterns but then at a small loss as to how to answer. I finally answered with "Mother Nature did, sweetie" because the explanation in my head - dealing with G-d, the Shekinah, the (at least) dual aspects of universe, the worship of Nature - was so far beyond the scope of what she might have really been asking.
I have no answers; no pat summation of these two events and why they are both still on my mind. I'm sure it's not the last time (ha!) my beliefs are going to be engaged in a totally unexpected way. I gotta say though, I'm definitely looking forward to the next time.
1) While walking with a friend and her children the other day, her youngest son turned to me and told me that Dylan was not actually my child but was G-d's. I may think that Dylan is mine but she is only given to me temporarily. While thoughts of Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" swirled through my head ("...Your children are not your children,
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but are not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you..."), I found myself actually unsettled. When my friend caught up to us, I furtively told her what happened - almost as if her son had said something "wrong". She just looked at me and said matter of factly, "well, that's what he believes." And that was the end of it.
Except in my head she continued on with, "and so what if he does? What's wrong with it?!?!" Because that's what I was really thinking. So what? I believe in G-d. I pray frequently and believe that talking to someone/thing more than myself is a good thing and exceedingly calming at times. My concept of G-d includes a Creator aspect and of course, to that end, we are all G-d's creations ultimately (yes, I'm being VERY simplistic here, ok?). So why did an innocent observation from a child throw me?
2) During a walk today with Eric and Dylan (amazing how much theology occurs while in Nature, eh??), Dylan found a beautifully colored leaf. She held it up to examine it, looked at me and Eric and asked, "Who made this leaf?" Eric and I were first stunned by the thought patterns but then at a small loss as to how to answer. I finally answered with "Mother Nature did, sweetie" because the explanation in my head - dealing with G-d, the Shekinah, the (at least) dual aspects of universe, the worship of Nature - was so far beyond the scope of what she might have really been asking.
I have no answers; no pat summation of these two events and why they are both still on my mind. I'm sure it's not the last time (ha!) my beliefs are going to be engaged in a totally unexpected way. I gotta say though, I'm definitely looking forward to the next time.
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