R
reen12
Guest
I am thinking, today, of the world around us.
One tends to do this, in Spring. All comes to life again.
To be drawn to look at color or texture - or to listen to the sounds of creation,
is such a relief from sheer “facts.”
To stay in the present.
To not rush ahead, missing His wonders.
[Hmmmm. To be ‘present’ = to look at the “presents” that God gives us, in nature.] :coffeeread:
I think, too, that part of Jesus saying “Become as these littles are,” is an invitation to really look and to hear the world that He has created. A botanist studies plants. A child is far more in the “presence” of a dandilion. Not a “what for?” but an amazement of interest - that such a thing even exists!
In Eastern thought, the “suchness” of things [phenomena] is emphasized. A calling back to sheer existence. Yet, if this makes sense, it is not an either/or. An adult has to focus on the business at hand, during the work day. But even in the midst of this, the call of a bird or the sound of the wind can be noted, or the color of light on a given afternoon.
It is the utilitarian approach 'how can this substance or reality be ‘used’] that often blocks mere awareness of a thing. The smell of mud, in Spring, is a heady aroma. The edging back of snow cover is a wonderous sight - as the grass and the now moist soil, begin to show once more.
St. Francis of Assisi was truly a ‘child of God.’ Francis was lifted up to Him by each thing that God has created.
So many of us see what Francis saw, and we are lifted up as well. Yet we cloak ourselves in our ‘mature’ adult guise, fearing that no one else sees what we see. That each leaf, each rain puddle, that He has placed in our world, are present to bring delight and wonder.
Yet we need to slow down, long enough, to see and to experience such wonder. The “suchness” of things [in the East,] the ding an sich [the ‘thing, in itself’] in the West.
Yet far from ‘naming’ such things, a child will splash in a Spring puddle - just for the sound that splashing makes. And that splashing is a sound that brings joy to the heart of God. At last! Here is someone who appreciates puddles.
“Unless you become as these little ones, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Not that one will be blocked, by Another - from the experience of heaven. But if one cannot hear splashing, with delight, than does one have “ears - that do not hear,” and “eyes - that do not see” ?
The good thing about mud, is that this is what we were created from. The soil. The humus.
And my husband reminds me that Jesus made a paste of mud, to cure the man who was blind.
“Humus” is the root of the word ‘humility.’
An acknowledgment of our creaturliness.
Did God give us mud, so that we could see?
To see that we are creatures - created by Another -
from the same mud that gives off such a pungent aroma, each Spring.
reen12
One tends to do this, in Spring. All comes to life again.
To be drawn to look at color or texture - or to listen to the sounds of creation,
is such a relief from sheer “facts.”
To stay in the present.
To not rush ahead, missing His wonders.
[Hmmmm. To be ‘present’ = to look at the “presents” that God gives us, in nature.] :coffeeread:
I think, too, that part of Jesus saying “Become as these littles are,” is an invitation to really look and to hear the world that He has created. A botanist studies plants. A child is far more in the “presence” of a dandilion. Not a “what for?” but an amazement of interest - that such a thing even exists!
In Eastern thought, the “suchness” of things [phenomena] is emphasized. A calling back to sheer existence. Yet, if this makes sense, it is not an either/or. An adult has to focus on the business at hand, during the work day. But even in the midst of this, the call of a bird or the sound of the wind can be noted, or the color of light on a given afternoon.
It is the utilitarian approach 'how can this substance or reality be ‘used’] that often blocks mere awareness of a thing. The smell of mud, in Spring, is a heady aroma. The edging back of snow cover is a wonderous sight - as the grass and the now moist soil, begin to show once more.
St. Francis of Assisi was truly a ‘child of God.’ Francis was lifted up to Him by each thing that God has created.
So many of us see what Francis saw, and we are lifted up as well. Yet we cloak ourselves in our ‘mature’ adult guise, fearing that no one else sees what we see. That each leaf, each rain puddle, that He has placed in our world, are present to bring delight and wonder.
Yet we need to slow down, long enough, to see and to experience such wonder. The “suchness” of things [in the East,] the ding an sich [the ‘thing, in itself’] in the West.
Yet far from ‘naming’ such things, a child will splash in a Spring puddle - just for the sound that splashing makes. And that splashing is a sound that brings joy to the heart of God. At last! Here is someone who appreciates puddles.
“Unless you become as these little ones, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Not that one will be blocked, by Another - from the experience of heaven. But if one cannot hear splashing, with delight, than does one have “ears - that do not hear,” and “eyes - that do not see” ?
The good thing about mud, is that this is what we were created from. The soil. The humus.
And my husband reminds me that Jesus made a paste of mud, to cure the man who was blind.
“Humus” is the root of the word ‘humility.’
An acknowledgment of our creaturliness.
Did God give us mud, so that we could see?
To see that we are creatures - created by Another -
from the same mud that gives off such a pungent aroma, each Spring.
reen12
. And each time we think to appreciate, let us thank, and each time we thank, we shall taste of the Lord’s joy. Thankfulness is truly the path to joy!
) and not think twice about getting our precious clothes wet… etc.
God bless.