Do We Have the Power to Heal the World?

the following story was Told to Dr. Miriam Remen by her Grandfather on the occasion of her 4th birthday. She shared it in an interview with Krista Tippet on Public Radio. Dr. Remem is a physician who practices in the San Francisco area.

"In the beginning there was only the holy darkness, the Ein Sof, the source of life. And then, in the course of history, at a moment in time, this world, the world of a thousand thousand things, emerged from the heart of the holy darkness as a great ray of light. And then, there was an accident, and the vessels containing the light of the world, the wholeness of the world, broke. And the the light of the world was scattered into a thousand thousand fragments that fell into all events and all people, where they remain deeply hidden until this very day."

"According to tale, the whole human race is a response to this accident. We are here because we are born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people, to lift it up and make it visible once again and thereby to restore the innate wholeness of the world. It's a very important story for our times. This task is called tikkun olam in Hebrew. It's the restoration of the world. This restoration is a collective task. It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive, all people yet to be born. We are all healers of the world. This story opens a sense of possibility. It's not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It's about healing the world that touches us, the world in our proximity."

"It's a very old story, that comes from the 14th century, and it's a different way of looking at our power. We all feel that we're powerless to make a difference, that we need to be more somehow, either wealthier or more educated or experienced than the people we are. Yet, according to this story, we are exactly what's needed. Just wonder about that a little, what if we are exactly what's needed? What then?

We Create Our Own Reality

From the Sioux Tribe:

"The Creator gathered all creation and said, I want to hide something from the people until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality. The eagle said, Give it to me. I will take it to the moon. The Creator said, No, one day they will go there and find it. The salmon said, I will hide it at the bottom of the sea. No, they will go there too. The bear said, Give it to me, I will hide it deep in the mountains. No they will go there also. The buffalo said, I will bury it in the Great Plains. The Creator said, They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it. The Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, Put it inside them. And the Creator said, It is done."

Impressions we make are long lasting....

"The habits we form from childhood make no small difference. They make all the difference,"
Professor of Neurology, Takao Hensch

Giving of Oneself

A mother came to Gandhi, seeking his help in persuading her child to give up his habit of eating too many sweets. Gandhi replied that she would have to bring her child back to him in two weeks. The mother was puzzled, but she returned. Gandhi then took the child aside and counseled him about the dangers of too much sugar. The mother wanted to know, "But why did you wait two weeks to talk to him?" Gandhi replied, "Because two weeks ago I, too, was eating sugar." http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec09/vol67/num04/Vital_Connections.aspx

Being generative requires giving something of oneself to create something new; a piece of art, a delicious meal, a beautiful garden, even a healthy child. As Gandhi suggests, children learn what is important from us....

Out of the mouths of babes.....

While working as a school nurse in Wapato, I asked a little girl if she spoke Spanish. She replied, "No Mrs. Fast, I speak Human." What she was trying to say was that she spoke English but the word just wasn't there. I, however, love what she actually said. We all speak Human don't we?

I want to share a podcast with you entitled The Inner Lives of Children. It is an interview with Dr. Robert Coles. The description follows.

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/robert-coles/

Psychiatrist Robert Coles has spent his career exploring the inner lives of children. He says children are witnesses to the fullness of our humanity; they are keenly attuned to the darkness as well as the light of life; and they can teach us about living honestly, searchingly and courageously if we let them.

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It is a couple of days past Thanksgiving and I find myself full of gratitude, food, and passion to insure that all children are able to experience the same abundance. This blog is my small attempt to bring together great minds to help address child neglect and health and educational disparities in our country. I am committed, somewhat hopeful and fully aware that change will require the synergy of many. I hope you will join me in this important work.