The Best Question
May 28, 2008
Every once and a while, the wee bear (tho’ no longer so wee) asks a completely obvious question. We’ll be hanging out in the kitchen and he will ask,
“Is this our house?”
Sometimes we’ll be driving in the car and he’ll ask the same question about the car.
“Papa, is this our car?”
At first I thought he was just being silly, but he asks with such earnestness, that it made me think about the question a little more. Being a student of Zen made it all that more interesting, because, it really is all about looking at the moment with the fresh eyes of “beginners mind”. His certainly has a beginners mind, and when he asks, I look around with a suddenly deeper appreciation and gratitude for what indeed we have. Compared to most people in the world we are unbelievably lucky to have the house and car that we have. They are not luxurious by north american standards, that is for sure. But on a global level, man are we just golden. Furthermore, as the economic woes and earthquakes and monsoons have taught us lately, nothing is a sure thing. All “this” could change in a flash.
“Papa, is this our house?”
I do believe it is, sweetie. Wow. Aren’t we some lucky ducks?
