I’m not in the habit of thinking about my experiences in terms of biblical teachings, but these days I find myself thinking often of those spiritual exhortations to become “as a child”…  

In my karate classes, for which I signed up recently (only after receiving assurances that the sensei would make allowances for my “advanced” age), I find myself feeling much as I did in kindergarden:  self-conscious, clumsy and uncertain.

While awaiting instructions on what to do, where to be at my new job, I get similar visceral flashbacks of the disoriented discomfort of fumbling childhood.  

It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt so very AWARE of actively needing someone else’s help and guidance.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt such consistent yearning for kindness, patience and forgiveness.  And then there’s that rush of gratitude when these are offered…!

I’m not in the habit of thinking about my experiences in terms of biblical teachings, but these days I find myself relishing the re-discovery of humility.  Innocence.  Of heart and mind and hands opened to the unknown.  The gifts of life.