I am a soul; I have a body.
Body and soul each has its own needs and problems, and its own solutions, too. Trying to solve the problems of one with the solutions of the other, simply doesn't work. When we get the roles of Body and Soul reversed, that's one of the first things that goes wrong.
A human being is a family: Parent and Child and Grandparent living in single household.
In a family where the parent and child are in constant competition, no one thrives.
When the parent demands that the child behave like an adult, meet adult expectations, be guided by adult imperatives, that child can't be a child, can't share the creativity, amusement, the charm of childhood with the staid adult. The child is miserable, feels unloved, invalidated.
When the child demands that every meal be to the child's own tastes, no one gets past fried foods and sweets; when the child is positive he/she knows better--all the love and nurturing the parent wants to give the child is thrown back as despised and worthless, and the parent feels frustrated, unappreciated, invalidated.
There is the Grandparent in that family, one who can give good advice, but doesn't make policy. But if the grandparent is confined to the attic, who can hear what he/she might offer? What a loss, to forget that the Grandparent is there!
It's the Parent's job to make decisions and coordinate for the family, influenced by the Child and Grandparent. The Child's job is to listen and learn the basics, and invent wonderful new possibilities, to add some charm and silliness and laughter. The Grandparent is there, on-call, with access to information--the wisdom of much more accumulated life-experience and perspective that the Parent does not have.
We are souls; we have bodies; guidance is available, if we haven't lost the keys to the attic.
No comments:
Post a Comment