We all need our daily dose of Pooh's simple wisdom....the true art of living.
I am sure we all have our own Pooh in our lives....well, mine is a 9 year old with a Mowgli-like appearance, living wild and free, seemingly lost in a world of gadgets, games and wifi connectivity.... but who seems to have truly mastered the art of living, as he doles out his pearls of simple, innocent wisdom in the most unexpected places and in the most surprisingly simple ways, and almost always gets inspired while he is in the bathroom! :)
After years of coaxing, conversations, letting go, conflicts and resolutions, Raghav has finally decided to get into the groove of having a bath soon after he wakes up, so that he is "free" for the rest of the day and night, as one stretches and becomes the other! This morning, while I was giving him a bath, he brought my attention to a little bruise he had on his ankle. He made it known to me that it had healed as it was not as painful as yesterday, and that I could wash that part with soap and water. Then, as he usually does, he plonked himself into the tub, for a nice warm soak. While earlier, he would have screamed in pain, this time, he mentioned to me quite casually and quietly that his ankle was still hurting, especially when he sat in the tub of water. I nodded, smiled and walked away to make the bed.
Soon, he was out and drying himself with a towel. And then came these pearls of profound wisdom...
"Amma, why is it that the cure for anything is pain? You see, I had this little bruise and I know that water heals it, but then when it touches it, it hurts more. Why is it that everything in life is like this?", he asked.
I was astounded at the rawness of what he had expressed, but wished to understand him and his words a little more.
"Why do you feel and say that everything in life is like this? What else that you know of has made you feel this way?", I asked quietly.
"Well, you see all the diseases people have....for everything the cure is pain....to feel better, you have to feel the pain, and what cures it is the pain."
Wow! What I have taken forty odd years of suffering and stumbling and falling into the darkest of abysses to learn (and still learning), he seems to have learned already! I am quite sure now that he is my Pooh. All I need to do is watch him, listen to him and be with him, and I will learn how to truly live.
And while I was caught in my train of thoughts that moved from one station to another quite effortlessly, and not wanting to stop anywhere, my little Pooh was out and had already plonked himself on the beanbag - his little Pooh world for now, totally immersed in his game of Minecraft!
I am sure we all have our own Pooh in our lives....well, mine is a 9 year old with a Mowgli-like appearance, living wild and free, seemingly lost in a world of gadgets, games and wifi connectivity.... but who seems to have truly mastered the art of living, as he doles out his pearls of simple, innocent wisdom in the most unexpected places and in the most surprisingly simple ways, and almost always gets inspired while he is in the bathroom! :)
After years of coaxing, conversations, letting go, conflicts and resolutions, Raghav has finally decided to get into the groove of having a bath soon after he wakes up, so that he is "free" for the rest of the day and night, as one stretches and becomes the other! This morning, while I was giving him a bath, he brought my attention to a little bruise he had on his ankle. He made it known to me that it had healed as it was not as painful as yesterday, and that I could wash that part with soap and water. Then, as he usually does, he plonked himself into the tub, for a nice warm soak. While earlier, he would have screamed in pain, this time, he mentioned to me quite casually and quietly that his ankle was still hurting, especially when he sat in the tub of water. I nodded, smiled and walked away to make the bed.
Soon, he was out and drying himself with a towel. And then came these pearls of profound wisdom...
"Amma, why is it that the cure for anything is pain? You see, I had this little bruise and I know that water heals it, but then when it touches it, it hurts more. Why is it that everything in life is like this?", he asked.
I was astounded at the rawness of what he had expressed, but wished to understand him and his words a little more.
"Why do you feel and say that everything in life is like this? What else that you know of has made you feel this way?", I asked quietly.
"Well, you see all the diseases people have....for everything the cure is pain....to feel better, you have to feel the pain, and what cures it is the pain."
Wow! What I have taken forty odd years of suffering and stumbling and falling into the darkest of abysses to learn (and still learning), he seems to have learned already! I am quite sure now that he is my Pooh. All I need to do is watch him, listen to him and be with him, and I will learn how to truly live.
And while I was caught in my train of thoughts that moved from one station to another quite effortlessly, and not wanting to stop anywhere, my little Pooh was out and had already plonked himself on the beanbag - his little Pooh world for now, totally immersed in his game of Minecraft!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your thoughts are valuable......so please do share them....