Sunday, October 26, 2014

possession

We are at the cider mill, which has become a massive festival of blow-up toys and pay-as-you-go corrals, the sale of cider, doughnuts and apples apparently insufficient.

The two babies are happy to be outside on their mommies' bosoms in identical, identifiable Ergo carriers, blissfully unaware of economics. 

Distancing ourselves from the festival of apples and pumpkins, we go for a walk on a path along the woods. James, two and a half, straddles Grandpa's shoulders. Grandpa plucks a hickory nut from a tree. "Look, this is a hickory nut, James." 

James takes and throws it indignantly back into the woods. "That is not our own!"

Then Grandpa breaks a small dead branch off a tree and hands it to James, now on the ground, to walk with. Instantly James throws it back. "That is not our own!"

The grassy road undulates ahead, woods on the left, a field of corn on the right. Grandpa picks an ear of dry corn and hands it to James. "That is not our own!" and he throws it back. Grandpa goes and picks up the corn where it landed. "Maybe you can just carry it a while and throw it back later."

And so he begins to eat the dried, borrowed corn. 










22 comments:

  1. What joy it is to rediscover the world!
    I loved the last photo particularly - a young man rushing into the future - and us watching him...

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    1. Elizabeth, each and every time I spend with James, I discover something new. We are like children together. <3

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  2. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whats-Mine-Yours-Collaborative-Consumption/dp/0007395914/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414323672&sr=1-1&keywords=whats+mine+is+yours

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    1. This makes so much sense, Robert! Why haven't we done this in the last 50 years? I imagine they did it before then. I want it!

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  3. !

    the other thing they sell in those stalls is the myth that if money is exchanged we have dominion. and if we have dominion we have power. and if we have power we have the right to do as we wish.

    keep this shining like a mirror for him, and for us, as i believe you will))

    xo
    erin

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    1. Yes, Erin, that myth. The one that rapes and ravages, then walks away without a thought. There is no reason to hope, but as Camus said, "where there is no hope, it is incumbent on us to invent it.” I pray that James, his brother and cousin will walk gently on this earth.

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  4. I'm sitting here speechless, Ruth. Totally speechless.....

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    1. Boots, that makes me glad somehow, for this is a profoundly important concept that we need reminding of, daily, to contemplate.

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  5. Once again, the children have wisdom to teach. Reminds me of my dad, who always cautioned me to never take more of anything than I needed (which is another way of saying "that is not our own").

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    1. George, it is such a simple concept and perspective, and one that is sustainable. To surround every activity with grateful awareness, to prayerfully remember those who grew our food, to not waste what we've purchased, to savor every beautiful thing, to meet the world humbly. I am glad to know your dad raised you that way, as mine did me. I'm afraid I have not always honored him though. Now my grandson refreshes the lesson.

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  6. I think James is taught very, very well. And I love how it was all handled -- carry it a bit and throw it back. Beautiful.

    And wonderful photos too -- what a magic memory to have.

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    1. Jeanie, James's parents are truly great. They humble me with insight constantly. The fact that his father is an ethicist helps. :)

      I wish I could spend even more time with these children while they live nearby.

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  7. Oh, the fierce morality of a two year old. James is a beautiful child.

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    1. Mary, what keeps coming back when I remember this is how righteously indignant he was. It was just a matter of fact. He was not angry, just fiercely convinced, perfect word choice, thank you.

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  8. "That is not our own!" Such a wise, beautiful child your James. If only more of us understood what he instinctively knows...

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    1. DS, yes. I guess we unlearn it, sadly, and need constant reminding against the stream of consumption.

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  9. The pictures are pure poetry and James has poetry in his soul...

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    1. The Broad, I am grateful you have found poetry here. To live poetically is all.

      To live poetically is to live within attention: to be a solid sensorial, psychic and spiritual block of attention before all the existential dynamics of life itself, before the expressivity of the world, before the symphony of quotidian details in which that expressivity is concretized (this implies an orchestral refinement of the life of our senses and a conscious effort to assess our perception of the objects that populate our surroundings).

      The whole speech on living poetically by Armando Rojas Guardia is here (shared with me by Erin some time ago).

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  10. That is not our own. What kind of deep wisdom is working through that child's mind?

    Beautiful, Ruth. What a glorious day that was.

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    1. Amanda, watching this boy develop is like watching a civilization develop in some way. :) It helps me realize how much each person takes the world in uniquely, and also gives back uniquely.

      Thank you.

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  11. What a wonderful bundle of joy is running along with you on these walks. A great kid. :)

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    1. Astrid, you have your own special boy, now grown, so you know this wonder. Yes, James is a great kid, beyond imagining.

      Thank you. <3

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All responses are welcome.