I am beginning to recognize that the message of all spiritual books is the same be it ‘Conversations with God’, or the ‘Alchemist’ or ‘The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse’ or the book I have just started reading – Tao te ching by Stephen Mitchell. What I notice is how each book uses a different style to communicate this message. While ‘Conversations with God’ comes forth as a complex set of ideas and teachings, the ‘Alchemist’ is a beautifully woven story of a boy who travels to achieve his dreams. The book by Charlie Mackesy is an illustrated story with less words and Tao te ching communicates through poetic lines. Same yet different…that’s how we human beings are – deep down we all are the same…it is just that we use different mediums, different words and different ways to bring that out. Unfortunately, we are interpreted differently by different beings and in that sense I believe words have the potential to be least effective communicators.
As I write about this insight, I look out of my window and notice how different are all the plants around me – some tall, some short, some with large trunks, and some with long leaves while some with tiny ones. In this difference, there is oneness – sameness for their purpose is the same…
My thoughts wander around and I recollect memories of a childhood friend. I remember with fondness our dance practices and all those outdoor and indoor games, the picnics lunches and the movies we all watched together, our bus rides to school…those were our carefree days…Today, I read a post that she wrote – her son – a fresh MBBS graduate has been assigned Corona screening duty. “As a mother I have had a total roller coaster ride of emotions these last few days ... from pride, worry, sleepless nights, giving stupid instructions ... you get the drift friends,” she noted in her post. Reading her post, I look at my almost 15 year old son sleeping peacefully and for a moment I feel what she is going through. We all mothers are the same. We may have different ways of parenting, but deep down we want the same things for our children and we feel the same way about our children.
My attention shifts to my second son who is also sleeping peacefully. He has stayed awake the entire night – gaming, watching his favourite series and designing wallpaper for his laptop. Apart from practicing volleyball moves, he has also been teaching his little sister to play minecraft. My daughter too is asleep. This lockdown period is getting tougher and tougher for her as each day passes. She misses going out to play and is missing her friend. All my three children are so different in their likes, dislikes, interest areas and temperaments…and yet they are so similar…they pursue their interest with a similar focus, they love their freedom and thrive when they are free to experience and learn…
It’s not only them – but all children want this freedom to experience and learn. They want complete autonomy over what they want to do and cringe when someone else starts taking over. They are all unique in the way they learn and have their own styles…and deep down they are all the same – they all want to own their experiences and the learning from these experiences…
Originally posted on Facebook on April 2, 2020
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