Saturday, 5 August 2017

A LESSON FROM CHILDREN
                Before joining Carmel, I used to regularly play board games with a friend of mine. This friend had a little girl who, being around two years old, would sit with one of us and watch the game with lot of excitement. Sometimes we would allow her to roll the dice at which her eyes would light up and she would shout with joy. We always wondered what she understood but were happy to see her happy. But as she started getting older, things slowly started changing.  She was no longer satisfied with being a mere spectator. As soon as we would start the game, she would rush to the board and pick up the dice and say “They are MINE!” We would tell her, “Yes they are yours, but can we please have them for some time so we can play?” But no amount of coaxing or bargaining would make her yield the dice. Finally, after having tried everything, we would try to distract her and

slowly get the dice out of her fist. But she was smarter than we thought. As soon as she sensed what we were trying to do, she
would put the dice in her mouth! At this we had to accept defeat and leave her alone for fear that she might swallow them rather than give them to us.
Incidents like these or similar ones may be common in families with small children. We may think it is cute and funny. Some may even analyze it psychologically and comment on the behaviour of the child and/or the parents. But is there anything that we can learn from this? I would like to suggest two of them.

1.      We are no different from children. In the case of children, we permit such behaviour, to some extent, because we think it is harmless and that they will overcome it with age. But if we introspect and look into our own lives, we find in ourselves the same unyielding character. The dice get replaced with something else. We all have attachments that we are not ready to let go of, come what may. We all desire to have a faith like Abrahams but are rarely ready to make sacrifices. The attachment may be to money, fame, authority, beauty, clothes, our passions, knowledge, shopping, MY ideas, MY reason, MY opinion, MY suggestion, and many other things that we cannot detach from but which are really a hindrance in our growth as spiritual persons and also in our daily relationships with people.
We fail to see that everything that we have is received as a gift from God and we actually have nothing of our own, not even our own life.
2.      When we see such behaviour in children, doesn’t it actually make us wonder what Jesus may have meant when he said “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God (Mt 18:3) “. The essence lies in the same behaviour mentioned above. The only thing worth clinging on to is the Kingdom of God. No amount of persecution, trials, and worldly attractions should take us away from this. The kingdom of God is our only Goal. The more we empty ourselves of our attachments, the more we will be filled with God.
What are you attached to? The kingdom of God, or something else? If it is something else then maybe it’s time to loosen your fist and maybe even open the mouth and spit out at least one of the dice.
             Sr.  Benedicta of the Holy Face (Novice)
                           Carmel of God the Father, Pune