Our Lost Innocence

There is innocence in life that exists not simply within the confines of childhood.

It is a spirit within all of us, an impelling urge for something that rings so true within us and within life, something exemplary and authentic, something that feels like goodness, something fragile and tender and loving that we long for it, often and sincerely, and sometimes desperately.

The world can be hard and harsh with its obsessive competitiveness and its isolating values that pit people against one another. This is done in politics and in religion, in school and in work, in neighborhoods and in suburbs everywhere.

And what happens is we lose our innocence because we tell ourselves we have to fight to survive. We have to slug it out and push our way through and not care. We have to play games of cruel prejudice and of disengaging from those different from us, those not in our social status, those not of our faith, those of a race not our own.

Our dislikes begin to dominate our thoughts and actions and we lose touch with the real core of our humanity. We forget how to bend low and be humble and reach out in love. We fail to listen to conscience and soul and be led by our heart and so give in to headstrong thoughts about being right and superior and better and our smugness alienates us from people and experiences that could authenticate our humanness and that could connect us to our divinity.

It is in this awareness that I sometimes think of a line in Bob Seger’s old song, “Running Against the Wind,” when thinking back when he was very young he says, “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”

In Kate DiCamillo’s brilliant children’s book, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” we follow the experiences of a special rabbit. Edward Tulane is made of porcelain and is covered in expensive outfits and has real looking whiskers. He is pampered and lives in luxury and takes everything he has for granted. He is selfish and impolite and unfeeling.

Through a series of remarkable and sometimes scary life experiences Edward comes to see how dependent he is on others in order to be authentic and real. After misfortune, terrible wounding and near death, he discovers the power of kindness and how far love will go to show the depth of one’s heart.

And in all of this Edward discovers he has a heart, too, because he learns how to feel and care and how to cry.

When he finds himself among some hobos he admits he is lost and afraid. And one of the hobos says, “Perhaps you would like to be lost with us. I have found it much more agreeable to be lost in the company of others.”

This is how we recapture our innocence. We learn the interconnectedness of life, that it’s not a consistently straight line leading to a pot of gold under a rainbow that we find on our own. But that life is accepting our participation in it and the growing of a self whatever the costs. And realizing there will be some costs.

If I had five minutes to evacuate--what would I take with me?

If I was told there was a bomb in my building and I had five minutes to evacuate my apartment I’d grab a grocery bag and quickly toss these items into it: 1. A photo of my grandparents, Mom and Pop and me, when I was 15 years old. I learned what love is made of from them. I learned what it is to be kissed on and hugged in arms so tender they felt like God’s arms. I discovered self worth from those two angels in human flesh. Of all the people in my life, they were the ones who made me feel I counted. Honestly, whatever capacity I have to love others came from them. 2. A sentimental, dog-eared, stars in the margin copy of Pat Conroy’s, “The Prince of Tides.” It is a book I have read three times and often return to for its wisdom. It is a harsh, profoundly tragic novel, the story of a family so broken and tortured by such flawed and wounded people that it is sometimes difficult to turn the next page. And yet it is the story of such Herculean courage and endurance that you want...

I Saw the Delicacy of Life

I was flying Across the deep And I saw the delicacy Of life Wrinkles on the faces Of the old So pure they glistened Like awards The joy of children Running with abandon Their laughter ringing Like chimes in the wind I saw the soft moving waves Across the sea And the trees releasing Their rainbow leaves Birds joined me on my flight And I saw the surface of their wings Adorned with patterns Glorious and unfurled I saw the tears of the sad And the smiles of the glad The suffering in mourning And the celebration of birth As I descended toward the ground Slowly, slowly, softly I saw the gentle grass of the field And smelled the fresh earth It was a perfect landing © 2018 Timothy Moody

Actions Make a Difference

“We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them.” ~ Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Physician/Author Pictured here is Kikuko Shinjo, 89 years old, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. As a 17-year old nursing student she helped nurse victims of the carnage back to health. Many of them died in her care. She says she holds no grudge against America and encourages interaction between the Japanese and Americans. She has devoted her life to peace, saying, “I want all the people around the world to be friends, and I want to make my country peaceful without fighting.” Today she makes colorful paper cranes and donates them to the Children’s Peace Monument at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

The Unclad Soul

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