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Everybody loves babies. Babies are the ultimate sign from the Universe that beyond the veil, back where the Numinous dwells just out of site, there is innocence and tenderness and a Presence you just can’t keep from embracing.
Babies are soft and vulnerable and naïve. In order to thrive they need our love, our touch, our constant provisions. Babies bring smiles to our faces and we ‘coo’ and ‘goo-goo’ and contort our faces for minutes on end just to get one smile in return – even if it might have more to do with passing gas than a mutual response of endearment!
When we think of babies, do we not think of works like ‘precious’? Yes! Precious. They are jewels, objects of affection that keep us attentive to their moods, their needs, their desires. Yes, babies are precious, indeed.
So I ask, at what point are they no longer worthy of our coddling, our love; our abiding tenderness of speech and gentleness of touch? At what point in human development do these same eternal souls, once nothing but a few pounds and precious to the touch, become disposable? Horrible to think about isn’t it – disposable.
How is it that in light of eternity – of time without end – just twenty or thirty years in this dimension can make such a radical distinction in the way we see others? How is it that we can so easily turn to words of hate and spite and prejudice toward the ‘other’ when just a moment ago in time, a mere blink of the eye in eternity, we would have responded to them, even though unknown, as worthy of being the apple of our eye?
Why does humankind not interact with adults as they would a mere child? Why does part of the world hoard wealth as other parts starve? How do some societies become ‘less than’ worthy of our attention merely because they look different or follow a different sacred story? Are they not still worthy of our affection, of our abiding love, of being cared for and nourished?
And what of the people driving so damn slow in the fast lane as we’re late for work? What of the people in our spiritual communities who seem to be ‘black holes’ of unending need? What of our family members – those closest to us – where is the tenderness when times are tough, lives are stressed and bank accounts run dry?
Babies are adorable, yes… but so are adults. If only we could see them through different eyes. If only we could look long enough and deeply enough to see the divine within (regardless of their actions).
As the poet writes:
For I can see in your eyes
That you are exquisitely woven
With the finest silk and wool
And that Pattern upon your soul
Has the signature of God!
Today, begin a spiritual practice of looking for the child, the infant behind eyes that are old and worn, set beneath a furrowed brow or just above a frown belying a life of struggle.
Today, see the pattern upon the human soul – and know it is nothing less than the ‘signature of God.’
14 comments to “Adorable Babies, Disposable Adults”
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“As a white candle in a holy place, so is the beauty of an aged face.” Joseph Campbell
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Wonderful post! I would like to share it with my FB friends, if that’s OK, with proper credit.
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According to my wife I do indeed act like a baby sometimes!
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This had me thinking of that Benjamin Buttons movie, Tim. I’m sharing this too. Thanks.
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Tim, your reflection on babies reminds me (vividly, almost verbatim) of a journal entry I made after a retreat 30 years ago this month.
A late and dear priest friend once told me to find a school picture of myself from when I was 6 or 7 years old and to put it up on my bathroom mirror, where I shave, to constantly remind me of who and what God sees when He looks at me, even now. I don’t shave much but it’s great to have friends like you to remind me.
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Thanks again Tim. Great stuff.
Some thoughts…
Making the transition from child to adult is mostly about biological and psychological development. Nature leads one development. And society leads the other. And for the most part it’s inevitable. Children become adults. Not that it’s any more challenging but the transition from biologically and psychologically mature adult to spiritually mature adult is often missed.
I credit a great humiliation and a 12-step program for the beginning of my spiritual awakening.
Thank God for humiliations and for programs that honor them.
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I’ve had a slew of babies (8 of ‘em), and they are indeed precious …. and, to my chagrin, they do seem to lose some of that preciousness, as they grow … but it IS an intentional practice to “look for the child” in each one … to remember … to “judge not by appearances” …
For ourselves, too.
You’re singing my son, Tim…!
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(sheesh — singing my *song!* Ok, you’re singing my daughter, too…!)
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uncanny … just received this:
“Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other, and have the courage to accept each other as we are. Do not he surprised or become preoccupied at each other’s failures – rather, see and find in each other the good, for each one of us is created in the image of God.”
~Mother Teresa of CalcuttaI am encouraged by the indwelling and inherent good in people.
Dear God,
Help me see Your presence in each person I meet or think of.
I know Your vibration in myself, I feel Your presence.
Strengthen my ability to be aware of You in everyone.
Sometimes, I am right there, in tune with the people I encounter.
There are also times when I seem to forget that You are in each person;
circumstances when I am not as loving as I am capable of being.
Judgment and fear rise up in me from places I do not understand.
I am willing to change, to be healed.
Help me see myself and all people through Your eyes.
It is my sincere desire to be like You in every way.
May my life reflect Your love.
And so it is!
Amen -
I still believe I know why God makes all babies so precious and adorable and lovable. It’s so they won’t be murdered by their parents when they become teenagers.
Seriously, when Tim said “Babies are adorable, yes… but so are adults. If only we could see them through different eyes. If only we could look long enough and deeply enough to see the divine within (regardless of their actions).”, you have hit the nail on the head. If God sees all mankind that way, which I believe he does, then how can I justify looking at mankind any other way? I can’t!
Once I came to the conclusion that God loves everyone to the same degree, no matter what they believe, say, or do, the result was for the first time in my life I have the freedom to love everyone no matter what they say, believe or do. What a life changer for me!
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Great Post Tim
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It brings to mind Jesus saying unless we become as little children… Children are so forgiving that one minute they are fighting and the next they are playing like nothing ever happened. But adults hold grudges sometimes forever.
My life changed forever when I realized that there was nothing my children could do to make me love them less.
When people tell me that they did this or that and doubtsthat God will forgive them / I say would you forgive your child if he did it and was sorry. -
Sorry for the doubtsthat… Pushed wrong button and it was all she wrote :/
I saw a T-shirt yesterday that read “Inside every old person is a young person wondering what the hell happened.”