Love and Playfulness
Once You Learn Your Life Lessons, The Reasons You Have Come Here, Then You Are Free To Play...
Imagine an illuminated couple watching their beloved little child play. The father sits in silence, with his full attention on the child, bathing the child in awareness, detached and free. The mother’s full attention is also on the child, but her instinct is to interact fully with the child, to play with it and enhance its exploration and development through loving companionship. I suggest that these are two modes of spiritual conception about the nature of God.
From a purely detached observation of life it would seem there is a lot of validity to the more Buddhistic belief systems that perceive the Divine as pure detachment, complete in the bliss of limitless freedom, silently observing all from the highest heavens to the lowest hell with the same degree of full awareness. On the other hand, I believe our call and challenge as divine and human creatures is to create this interactive expression of God. I would say the mother figures Christ, or the ongoing development of the Divine as liberating, engaged compassion.
Mental detachment from the negative aspects of ego (selfish concerns) is crucial in both spiritual systems. But it is the element of heart that brings the full human/divine warmth into play. And play is a good word for it. Perhaps the highest expression of the union of mental freedom and compassionate heart is joyful, loving playfulness. It certainly is the healthiest atmosphere for a child’s development. Couldn’t the healthiest atmosphere for children’s growth also be the healthiest dynamic for adult societies?
I do not mean to imply that there is not compassionate playfulness in Buddhism. I’m sure there are many Buddhist who wondrously express this. God knows, it is certainly lacking here in the West with our dysfunctional anti-body, anti-life spiritual foundations. It is a challenge to spiritualities of both East and West to open so fully to Life, to grace and Love, to the Divine freedom and to each other that joyful, celebrative playfulness is the natural result.
Unless you become as children, how shall you enter the realms of the heavens? Jesus
Imagine an illuminated couple watching their beloved little child play. The father sits in silence, with his full attention on the child, bathing the child in awareness, detached and free. The mother’s full attention is also on the child, but her instinct is to interact fully with the child, to play with it and enhance its exploration and development through loving companionship. I suggest that these are two modes of spiritual conception about the nature of God.
From a purely detached observation of life it would seem there is a lot of validity to the more Buddhistic belief systems that perceive the Divine as pure detachment, complete in the bliss of limitless freedom, silently observing all from the highest heavens to the lowest hell with the same degree of full awareness. On the other hand, I believe our call and challenge as divine and human creatures is to create this interactive expression of God. I would say the mother figures Christ, or the ongoing development of the Divine as liberating, engaged compassion.
Mental detachment from the negative aspects of ego (selfish concerns) is crucial in both spiritual systems. But it is the element of heart that brings the full human/divine warmth into play. And play is a good word for it. Perhaps the highest expression of the union of mental freedom and compassionate heart is joyful, loving playfulness. It certainly is the healthiest atmosphere for a child’s development. Couldn’t the healthiest atmosphere for children’s growth also be the healthiest dynamic for adult societies?
I do not mean to imply that there is not compassionate playfulness in Buddhism. I’m sure there are many Buddhist who wondrously express this. God knows, it is certainly lacking here in the West with our dysfunctional anti-body, anti-life spiritual foundations. It is a challenge to spiritualities of both East and West to open so fully to Life, to grace and Love, to the Divine freedom and to each other that joyful, celebrative playfulness is the natural result.
Unless you become as children, how shall you enter the realms of the heavens? Jesus
Labels: Christ and Buddha, Love and Playfulness, spiritual life, union with God
posted by Blake Steele at 11:07 AM
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