I have always been able to make my life happier than it might have been. As a child, I remember the chaos and unhappiness we sometimes suffered at the hands of an abusive father who loved us more than anything but followed the teachings of his father, who followed the teachings of his father who had followed the teachings of his father, so generation after generation, the rule of thumb was: "Spare the rod and spoil the child." We were never spoiled.
My day began with a schedule of chores and tasks to be completed by the end of the day, and if they were not completed, we knew what to expect. Except for my two older siblings and the two youngest, my mother's ten children were spaced about eighteen months apart, and until I was ten, we had two parents. After the divorce and once I was twelve, my job was to make sure the chores and cooking were done before my mother returned home from work.
In order to inspire my younger siblings, I learned to create stories from my dreams and tell nursery rhymes improvised so that they included each of my siblings. Sometimes, we played games inside the house and sometimes outside in the yard, but we created magic and made a way out of no way, creating paper dolls, building go-carts from skates and planks of wood, and completing chalk drawings on a very long, concrete driveway.
My life was a challenge, but not as challenging as my mother's life nor my older sister's life. But compared to other church members, it seemed as though my mother was mistreated and neglected by the Creator. So by age eleven, I had stopped believing in God because no one could answer the question: Why does my pretty mother have to suffer and struggle so much? Without fail, the answer was always, "It's the Lord's will." Each of their responses was followed this question (which I never expressed): What kind of "Lord" would allow such misfortune? Clearly, I did not understand many things, especially the fact that our mother felt "blessed" to have all ten of us.
Despite the fact that my mother believed in her religion and was able to face and overcome her challenges, I sought to understand. Finally, I heard about karma, translated into the Christian concept, "You reap what you sow." I continued to attend our Christian church, but by age thirteen, I understood karma to mean: "What goes around comes around." I understood and accepted Christian beliefs, but I especially understood and accepted "karma." The poem which follows explains how karma works, but it does not explain that with karma, those ripples go on and on until they come back to you!
PEBBLE IN THE WATER
Drop a pebble in the water,
just a splash, and it's gone;
But there's half a hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center,
flowing on out to sea.
And there is no way of telling
where the end is going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water;
in a minute you will forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing
and there's ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing
to a great big wave have grown;
You've disturbed a mighty river
just by dropping in a stone.
Drop an unkind or careless word:
in a minute it is gone;
But there's half a hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
They keep spreading, spreading,
spreading from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them,
once you've started the flow.
Drop an unkind or careless word:
in a minute you forget;
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet.
And perhaps in some sad heart
a mighty wave of tears you've stirred,
And disturbed a life that was happy
where you dropped that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
just a flash and it is gone;
But there is half a hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort
on each splashing, dashing wave,
Till you wouldn't believe the volume
of the one kind word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
in a minute you will forget;
But there's gladness still a-swelling,
and there's joy circling yet.
And you've rolled a wave of comfort
whose sweet music can be heard,
Over miles and miles of water
just by dropping one kind word.
Author Unknown
No comments:
Post a Comment