World Beginnings

  “Listen, Peter. When Aslan said you could never go back to Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia, which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world. The Last Battle . Copyright © 1956 by C. S. Lewis Pte., Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1984 by C. S. Lewis Pte.  Escaping through the wardrobe to a magical land, Narnia, symbolized hope to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, when the harsh realities of the world became too much for their young souls. Children’s imaginations are powerful, from playing in parents’ clothing, dressing dolls, or building with Lincoln Logs.   Who made forts in the woods or backyards? Who imagined a fallen tree as a pirate ship or trains made with dining room chairs and blankets? We created our own perfect little worlds where we were in charge, with no need for technology to direct the ideas. As Lewis write...

  Gandi’s glasses recently sold for $340,000 USD at a British auction; more than ten times the pre-auction estimate. The singer Edith Piaf sang about living life looking through rose-colored glasses, " La vie en rose ”,   and John Lennon made round-colored lenses his trademark while proposing a perfect world in his song “ Imagine ”. We “see” the world out of the lens of our complicated lives and history. Some only see next season’s couture show or exotic vacation. Some see the world colored by past loss or perceived wrongs; impacting every relationship and decision today. As a young man, Gandhi had many choices but he chose a simple path. While his countrymen were embracing Western clothing and values, he tossed those aside, wearing a plain cotton loincloth. eschewing all but the simplest of food. World leaders, philosophers and thinkers came to seek his wisdom;  his message of change through nonviolence still rings today. Just think how wonderful the world would be now i...

Seattle had proper blocks with unbroken pavement perfect for a game of hopscotch or a starting point for evening hide and seek. At   one end of our block was an overgrown vacant lot with a huge tree that had fallen. Hours were spent down the block on that tree which often became a pirate ship rocking violently as we tried to shake each other off or holding spears made of twigs fighting off the invaders. Seattle is a city of hills and one was at another corner of our block where we would gather the wagons and race down the hill, careening into another vacant lot filled with blackberry bushes where we tunneled for hours eating ripe and unripe berries. When the street lights came on we went home; berry juice staining us from head to toe and knees were scraped raw from tumbling out of the little wagons. We lived without hand sanitizer or cute bandaids . We looked   and smelled much like the wild Indians on the western shows on the tiny TV’s. Then we ...