This I Know....

I am thinking today about things you automatically know and things you don't. Things that you may think everyone should automatically just know are things that are a part of you and probably have been for most of your life. Some people are born nurturers. They just know that people and animals need love and touch. They know that when they touch their children or their animals that the touch communicates love and a sense of belonging. We who have been brought up with loving touches automatically know when we are touched whether or not it is a loving touch or not. Those who are born mothers know this also. But not everyone knows this. I remember when I was a young mother I tried staying at home for a short period of time, babysitting for extra money. There was this one baby that I sat for that would not stop crying unless I placed her in the infant swing and set it to automatically swing. She did not like to be touched. Most babies when held will cuddle right up to you. Not this infant. It was like holding a porcelain doll. I hope that someone at some point in this soul's life took the time to introduce her to loving touches. I am not sure that I automatically knew the value of loving touches. This is something I had to learn. I remember that sometimes all of the babies (there were two besides my own) would get hungry at the same time, so I would line them up on the couch and prop their bottles into their mouths. I didn't realize the value of sending loving energy to the babies as they fed. Sometimes I wonder how a mother of multiple babies is able to send loving energy to the souls of each child. Those few months that I babysat in order to earn enough money to stay home with my child taught me that just because I was at home with my child did not necessarily mean I was spending quality time with her. Because I had two other infants in my care, each additional child took away from the time I was able to spend with any of them individually. Their physical needs were met, however, I am not so sure their emotional needs were always addressed. Somehow now my older wiser self thinks that I should have automatically known that the souls of these children needed nurturing just as much as their physical bodies did.

Now recently I have been made aware of the emotional needs of folks and I try not to assume that people know things that I seem to automatically know. Sometimes my husband reminds me that just because I work at the Post Office that I should not automatically assume that my customers know the same things I know about mailing packages. It is easy to assume that if I know something then other people around me automatically know these things too.

Recently I have become aware of the need of our Mother Earth to feel love and appreciation from her inhabitants. We as human beings have ravaged her land, drilled for her oil,  and dug holes to bury our trash. How many of us have said "Thank you" to her for her patience with us? Many of us think nothing of dropping our trash along the side of the road or flicking our cigarette butts into the dry brush along our highways. No wonder She has responded with many recent weather changes. I am thinking that many of us do not automatically think of saying thank you to the Soul of the land which perpetuates our existence.

This weekend I was blessed to get a trip to the beach. Granted, it was a beachy area somewhat inland from the actual ocean, but there was sand and there was water. I felt compelled to connect with the land and say to Mother Earth, "I am sorry for our sins against You. Please forgive us. Thank you for your gifts to us. I love you." We cannot  assume our Mother Earth knows that we love Her. It is important to tell her. It is important to apologize for our sins against her. It is important to send the energy of love into Her earth, whether we are at the beach or in the woods or even in the concrete city. Perhaps she needs to know we love Her even more in the city where we have removed most reminders of Her Presence.

Just as a new mother I had to be taught the value of emotional bonding when other new mothers automatically knew this, I am guessing that many of us as children of the Earth have not considered telling our Mother Earth that we love her. Also in our actions it is important to show her that we value her gifts to us, by recycling, cutting down on our waste, and using our energy wisely. This is not something that many of us automatically know.

In your day to day interaction with the other inhabitants of the planet, think about things you know and remember that not everyone automatically knows the same things you do. It may cause you to interact with more compassion.