A is for . . . Awe

My dearest darlings,

As I write this, you, La Niña, are just two days short of your fifth birthday, and you, El Niño, just three days past your second one. You are both enjoying your childhoods. 

For you, La Niña, the challenge of life involves mastering, among other things, the English alphabet. Your childish voice recites the ABC in a singsong voice and your brother is quick to learn from you. He joins you, snatches of letters popping up here and there, but the tune is perfect.

I watch you with a strange mixture of pride and sadness. How fast you have grown! Before I know it, you will go out into the world, make your own friends and opinions. I wish I could always be with you to protect you. 

Since that is not possible, here's the next best thing. Starting today, we shall go over the alphabet, with a difference. Mamma will share her feeble wisdom with you, from A through Z. These posts are not all there is to know about life and living. We will continue our lessons in the real world. 

You won't be reading any of this untiI many years later. But I am anxious to get started. I have so much to share with you. And so without any fanfare or drumroll, here we go.



Image courtesy: Raj Manchekar

La Niña, your ABC book says, A is for Aeroplane. In my book, A is for Awe. I remember the first time I sat in an aeroplane. How awed I was at the fact that this huge contraption with me and so many others in it was actually going to fly through the air over long distances. The sense of awe occasioned then diminished as I flew more regularly.

But the awe I feel when I see a beautiful sunset or the awe I feel every time the Konkan Kanya Express glides through the majestic Konkan region has stayed with me. The feeling probably comes from witnessing a creation that is so beautiful and perfect only God could have made it.

I pray that you too may see many such sights that are part of nature's bounty. I pray that these sights may take your breath away, and that the very memory may cause you to feel uplifted in both heart and soul. May they remind you that God exists and that the fact of God's existence is announced to us most spectacularly every second of every day of our lives.

I don't have to remind you children to feel awe. Children, more than adults, see magic in the ordinariness of the world. The beauty of the stars, the rains, a little worm, a blade of grass, everything makes you feel awe. Only you see it as wonder. 

My wish for you is that even as grownups, you may never allow everyday life to distract you from the fact that we are viewing God's art gallery, breathing in His theatre, living the greatest motion picture in the world. There is mystery, delight and poetry here. Just make sure that your sense of awe lasts throughout your time.

I'll see you again tomorrow. Same place. B there. :)