And you can’t live without it!
I saw the movie Ray this week, and that was the thought I came away with. It is about Ray Charles, who suffered a childhood from hell. But of course the movie showed that while it contributed to his long term addiction to heroin, it also informed much of who he was.
He would not have been Ray Charles (Robinson) without it.
In The Transition, there is an opportunity for consciousness about our childhoods. Part of it is this notion that soul comes in precisely knowing and choosing the experiences that will color and drive one’s life. And life is like a movie. Some of us like to watch horror movies, some of us prefer comedies. In the movies, we know that “none of this matters” because in the end, the credits will roll and we will walk safely out of the theatre.
The same is true of life. In the end, we will walk safely back into the unlimited space of the divine, safe and secure as ever.
The trouble with childhood is that it is so disorienting, thinking that it is happening to us at random, or because we deserved it or were bad. If we can realize we chose it on some level that may not be apparent now, well, it’s easier to detach , to learn from, to even appreciate. (Not all that easy mind you, but doable.)
If you can survive it, it will make great stories later!
Because otherwise I think it makes parenting even more difficult than it already is. I mean, it’s like you’ve been a passenger for years, (as the child) then suddenly you are thrust in the driver’s seat! No real driving lessons, just years of knowing what it feels like to ride in the back seat. As any parent will tell you, it’s a whole different perspective being behind the wheel.
