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To be human is to be related. Relatedness is the gift Infinite Awareness gives itself in human form in order to be aware of and celebrating its creation.
There is no choice about whether we participate in being related; we are the relatedness of the world in all its manifestations. Our only choice is whether we resist, ignore, deny or attempt to limit our awareness of that relatedness, or open ourselves to its full glory, embrace it, and illuminate our true nature. This relatedness exists in at least six dimensions: our relationship with our own bodies, our relationship with other human beings, our relationship with the world of animals, plants and all of nature, our relationship with our story about who we are (ourselves as an identity, a character in a play called past, present, future), our relationship to our true nature, and the relationship of the Finite Me we pretend to be and the Infinite I that we are.
I spent last week on the east coast with my daughter, son-in-law, and their eight month old twin daughters. Helping out in my new role of grandfather, I observed with awe and appreciation my daughter's ability to surrender into her love for her babies in each and every moment, and act from that love. There is no break with twins. Nap time for one does not necessarily equal nap time for two. When both babies are sleeping, there is a chance for other basic activities to be done --- such as eating, showering, doing laundry, and yes, for the mother to get some sleep in for herself. Yet, there is no hint of sacrifice or burden, only a sense of the blessing for these two beings who haveve come to join their family, and double the opportunity for love to express itself.
In this atmosphere of love and caring, the natural openness and curiosity of infants unfolds itself. Smiling. Laughing. Open to all. No holding back. No fear. Be still, and observe the Divine constructing a structure of relatedness. One can almost hear the non-verbal awareness of their beingness asking itself, "How does this body work? How do I get it to move?" Grabbing, touching, feeling, making sounds�life is one large experimental playground on which they can discover their bodies, sound and language, and what "another" is.
To watch the twins put together the world, before self-consciousness arises, is to rediscover that ability in ourselves.
-- Hal Isen
From Core Wisdom On-Line Number 52 - January, 2006 541-488-7687 |
