Author Lewis Thomas – Medusa and the Snail
"The mere existence of that cell should be one of the greatest astonishments of the earth. People ought to be walking around all day, all through their waking hours, calling to each other in endless wonderment, talking of nothing except that cell.“
"If anyone does succeed in explaining it, within my lifetime," he wrote, "I will charter a skywriting airplane, maybe a whole fleet of them, and send them aloft to write one great exclamation point after another, around the whole sky, until all my money runs out."
http://news.stanford.edu/pr/91/911120Arc1048.html
– There is a unique wholeness that is indivisible
– In each personality there is a convergence of components that cannot be separated – giving each one his or her personhood
F.W. Boreham in the The Sword of Solomon states that:
– A person is not a quantity.
– Each person is an entity
"There is a sense in which two and two are four,
The plane of ledgers and cashbooks – on which these propositions are approximately sound,
But if you rise from that plane to a loftier one,
You will find at once that they are untenable …
it is obviously untrue that half-a-baby and half-a-baby make a baby,
Let the sword do its deadly work…
The two halves of a baby make no baby at all,
"On this higher plane of human sentiment and experience, the laws of mathematics collapse completely"
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When a man distributes his wealth among his children, he gives to each a part
But when a woman distributes her love among her children, she gives it all to each …
No man who has once fallen in love will ever be persuaded that one and one are only two,
He looks at her, and feels that one plus one would be a million …
No happy couple into the sweet shelter of whose home a little child has come will ever be convinced that two and one are only three,
Life has been enriched a thousandfold by the addition of that one little life to theirs,
And I am certain that no pair from whose clinging and protecting arms their treasure has been snatched will find comfort in the assurance that one from three leaves two. . ."
"In the great crises of life one’s faith in figures breaks down hopelessly."
So going back to Maslow - why do we move to the behavioural stage, entranced by all its data, and leave the volume of our origin unread?
– Do we not wish to claim dependence on anyone, deluding ourselves into believing that we are self-made?
– Held in the bind of our longing for love we have lost sight of the wonder of our essence behind the existence
Every now and then you will read of a dramatic expression of this need.
Next time read carefully between the lines – you will notice that it is not merely any love that is needed but a particular love.
That particular love is built into our unique personality and the unique wholeness with which we are born
Story from Covenant House – New York City:
Although Kathy came to us years ago, her story remains a stark reminder of the complex and heart-breaking reasons kids continue to come to our doors. Here is her story...http://www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-youth/view/this_belongs_to_me
Kathy came through our door dressed in dirty rags and clutching a small paint can to her chest. Whatever she did, wherever she went, the paint can never left her hands. She took the can with her to the cafeteria that first morning, and to bed with her at night.
Kathy even took the paint can into the bathroom, leaving it just outside the curtain as she showered. Getting dressed, the precious object rested between her feet.
"This can belongs to me."
That’s what she told the counselors at Covenant House whenever they asked her about it. When Kathy was sad or angry or hurt – which happened a lot – she took her paint can to a quiet dorm room on the third floor. Many times Kathy would rock gently back and forth, the can in her arms. Sometimes she talked to the paint can in low whispers.
Troubled kids often carry stuffed animals, photos, and all sorts of keepsakes, but no one had ever seen a child cherish a paint can.
Troubled kids often carry stuffed animals, photos, and all sorts of keepsakes, but no one had ever seen a child cherish a paint can.
One day, a concerned staff member approached Kathy, hoping to finally solve the mystery: “Kathy, that’s a really nice can. What’s in it?” For a long time, Kathy didn’t answer. She rocked back and forth, her hair swinging around her shoulders.
Then she looked over at the counselor with tears in her eyes and said:
“It’s my mother. It’s my mother’s ashes.
I went and got them from the funeral home. See, it even has her name on it.” Kathy pointed to a little red label which listed the only memories Kathy had of her mother: name, date of birth, date of death.
Then Kathy held the can close, and hugged it. “I never really knew my mother. I mean, she threw me in the garbage two days after I was born.”
My mother told me she loved me
Kathy’s story was checked. The year Kathy was born the New York newspapers ran a story saying that police had found a little infant girl in a dumpster two days after Kathy was born.
“I ended up living in a lot of foster homes, mad at my mother,” Kathy said. “But then, I decided I was going to try to find her. I got lucky – someone knew where she was living. I went to her house but she wasn’t there,” Kathy said.
“My mother was in the hospital. She had AIDS. I went to the hospital… I got to meet her the day before she died. My mother told me she loved me,” Kathy said crying. “She told me she loved me.”
Covenant House can’t make up for all the loss in Kathy’s life… the love that should have been showered on this sweet child by her mother, long before their first meeting at the hospital. But by opening up to us about the contents in the can – and sharing her story – she is beginning to let our love in. With unconditional support and services designed to help her succeed, one day Kathy will put down the paint can and instead hold on tight to a new life filled with happiness.
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