beautiful concentration
we were heading out for a walk yesterday. i (of course) was running around the house looking for my camera, and todd wandered off into the yard to wait for me. when i came out, he was in the lower garden, walking the perimeter of the fence. a beautiful, meditative concentration on his face as he listened to the warble of his turkey caller. it's a weird little plastic device with a plastic tube running through it that you pull back and forth. it works like, and sounds like, a straw being pulled in and out of the hole in the top of your fountain pop. it's meant to mimic the sounds of horny hens. like a buddhist singing bowl, however, you have to move the "straw" part at just the right speed and pressure in order to elicit the proper pitch and frequency of the yelp. (yes, the sounds that horny hens make is really called a "yelp.")
so, todd, meditating on the yelp in the garden, pacing to the speed of his caller. a faraway look on his face. completely in tune with the vibrations of this plastic singing bowl.
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then last night we watched the end of a japanese anime movie we'd rented. _princess mononoke_. totally righteous. awesome animation. (i'm not an anime buff by any measure.) it was the story of environmental degradation told with an intense mythological structure. then, for an interesting juxtaposition, we watched the documentary _jesus camp_, about the evangelical movement's recruitment of god's army of footsoldiers (children). the kids were clearly convinced of their deep and unforgivable sinfulness. i cried with them. it was terrifying to see their utter indoctrination. to wonder at my own.
there were multiple scenes of children agonizing, looking heavenward, tears rolling down babysoft cheeks. i pondered the image. some people may think children should not be so sad and despairing. while i disagree with the impetus (the sinful, repentant), i did feel awe at these children's ability to feel something so deeply. while it was an orchestrated feeling, manipulated and abused out of them, the fact of their profound consideration of their places in the world made me think about how few children actually experience such genuflection. although, undoubtedly, these kids weren't really considering much, but rather being dictated to, lied to, indoctrinated. but i do think that children could benefit from some truth about the not-knowing. some genuine reflection, awe, humility, as they look up into the night sky and see infinity. know that they are part of, they belong, but they are still infinitesimally small and irrelevant, and that that is the truth of life. not-knowing.
so, todd, meditating on the yelp in the garden, pacing to the speed of his caller. a faraway look on his face. completely in tune with the vibrations of this plastic singing bowl.
********************
then last night we watched the end of a japanese anime movie we'd rented. _princess mononoke_. totally righteous. awesome animation. (i'm not an anime buff by any measure.) it was the story of environmental degradation told with an intense mythological structure. then, for an interesting juxtaposition, we watched the documentary _jesus camp_, about the evangelical movement's recruitment of god's army of footsoldiers (children). the kids were clearly convinced of their deep and unforgivable sinfulness. i cried with them. it was terrifying to see their utter indoctrination. to wonder at my own.
there were multiple scenes of children agonizing, looking heavenward, tears rolling down babysoft cheeks. i pondered the image. some people may think children should not be so sad and despairing. while i disagree with the impetus (the sinful, repentant), i did feel awe at these children's ability to feel something so deeply. while it was an orchestrated feeling, manipulated and abused out of them, the fact of their profound consideration of their places in the world made me think about how few children actually experience such genuflection. although, undoubtedly, these kids weren't really considering much, but rather being dictated to, lied to, indoctrinated. but i do think that children could benefit from some truth about the not-knowing. some genuine reflection, awe, humility, as they look up into the night sky and see infinity. know that they are part of, they belong, but they are still infinitesimally small and irrelevant, and that that is the truth of life. not-knowing.
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