Digest Number 636

[Guest guest]

> Fri, 12 May 2000 14:26:37 +0100

> "Gill Collingwood" <gill

> Re: Shaya

>

> This is a beautiful story. In fact, it's rather too good to be true,

 

Hi Gill,

 

Lord have mercy, what kind of childhood did you have, Gill?

 

I grew up with a bunch of kids who were well brought up and

had good morals. I'm still in touch with three childhood

friends, a dentist and two CPA's, all still married to the

same women they married in their early twenties. We had good

parents, very middle class upbringings, and religious

education.

 

We grew up playing stickball, wiffle ball, punch ball, touch

football on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey, and I

remember the bunch of us being kind to 'slow' kids, or kids

who were new and uncoordinated, or very unathletic kids.

 

I remember one kid, Ferdinand, who had moved from Argentina,

could not speak English and did not understand the ball

games we played. We all loved taking him in and teaching

him. I'll never forget that. We didn't care who won the

game, really.

 

I remember a neighbor girl who had severe palsy. She would

come out of the house only a few days in the spring or

summer. Her brother would carry her down the stairs and sit

her in a wheelchair. She would sit there and do nothing but

shake her entire body of bones uncontrollably. It was very

frightening for us young kids. Again, remember, it was the

fifties and such dysfunctions were feared. But we kids would

stop our game, not really caring what the score was or who

was winning, and go visit Penny. We didn't like doing it

because we wanted to play and we were a little afraid of

her, but we were raised to be kind to that child. Our

parents taught us right. They educated us to stop what we

were doing and go visit Penny. And we did.

 

I remember another new kid, Jack Ajzner, 15 years old, 6

foot 7, from Israel, all the neighborhood kids had to teach

him English. He was pathetically uncoordinated. Of course we

introduced him to the basketball courts right away. He

couldn't play. We'd knock the ball out of his hands, steal

it when he tried to dribble, push him out of the way of

getting rebounds. Quickly we realized he was getting

frustrated and that we were being unkind. So we taught him

the game. Jack made junior varsity basketball for the high

school, but was on the team only for his height. He was

still very uncoordinated. Between his junior and senior year

in high school he went to a basketball camp, and in his

senior year in high school he was now 6 foot 10 and made All

State from Eastside High School in 1966. He went to

University of Cincinatti on a basketball scholarship. All

this can be verified in case you 'don't believe one bit of

it'.

 

These are a couple of stories that come to mind. Lots of

other similar stuff happened. We didn't make a big deal

about it. Were we sometimes cruel to some kids? Yes. We were

cruel to Jack at first. But I believe the story about Shaya

because I've seen it, though the story was no doubt

embellished.

>and I

> must say I don't believe it one bit. These stories get passed round

> because they remind people of the potential for love,

 

Stories go around these lists all day long that remind

people for the potential for love. They're just more

sophisticated, that's all.

 

Are you telling me that you and a group of friends were

never kind to another child who was in need of kindness? You

never extended a kindness to a Ferdinand, a Penny or a Jack?

And the stories I've told took place in the repressive 50's

and early 60's. Nowadays there is far more opportunity for

well-raised children to demonstrate kindnesses.

 

 

>even though

> most of us never live up to that potential - we all like to think that

> we could, and that other people could too.

 

People demonstrate kindnesses all the time.

 

> I feel that perhaps there's a rather harder lesson to be learnt - that

> perfection is there even when we *can't* see it. Or, to look at it

> another way - which of us is perfect, anyway? From a 'dualist'

> perspective, we all have our flaws.

> gill

 

Yeah, but those lessons wield their own assortment of

stories that get passed around. Just read these lists every

day. A person still is responsible for looking within.

 

The Shaya story was about everyday kindness. I believe the

somewhat embellished story because I've witnessed it in

childhood many times over. You don't believe it, Gill, and

I'm sorry about that.

 

Jerry Katz

Nonduality Salon

//nondualitysalon

[Guest guest]

Okay, Jerry, I believe you.

Guess I just got some buttons pushed...

gill

 

<good stuff snipped to save bandwidth>

> The Shaya story was about everyday kindness. I believe the

> somewhat embellished story because I've witnessed it in

> childhood many times over. You don't believe it, Gill, and

> I'm sorry about that.

>

> Jerry Katz

> Nonduality Salon

> //nondualitysalon

>

> ------

> eGroups members: $60 in FREE calls! Join beMANY! And pay less each month

> for long distance. http://click./1/4122/7/_/520931/_/958224305/

> ------

>

> //

>

> All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights,

> perceptions, and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and

> subside back into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not

> different than the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the

> nature of Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present.

> It is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

> Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

> Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self. Welcome

> all to a.

>

> To from this list, go to the ONElist web site, at

> www., and select the User Center link from

> the menu bar on the left. This menu will also let you

> change your subscription between digest and normal

> mode.

>

>

>

>