Nirvana, Nevada....It's All the Same
How does being green change a person? I have pondered this question for awhile now and it is truly a BIG idea to consider. I know that being green has changed me in many ways and it has affected all aspects of my life. Interestingly, being green does not only mean that I buy and use earth-friendly products and clothing, eat organic foods, and not spray my yard with harmful pesticides (or herbicides for that matter!); rather, it is also a mindset.
My yoga friends understand this, probably much better than I do, but the basic line of thinking for me now in my life is to be mindful....always present and always aware of how my every action and reaction affects the earth and its inhabitants-from my interactions with my son and husband to how I look the checker in the eye at the grocery store-my focus remains the same...mindfulness. I expect that it may take a lifetime to truly understand how to be mindful in a peaceful, non-thinking way, but at least I am headed down that path!
And that brings me to a lovely story my son recently told me. The premise for this story is that my son often asks about life and death...things I didn't consider much when I was his age, but then again, I was busy putting shiny skin-tight pants on my Barbie and teasing up her hair to high heaven while my son is busy pondering LIFE'S GREATEST QUESTIONS.
Anyhow, we have been chatting a lot recently about God, heaven, and spirits. We somehow got into a discussion about how there are many words for God, depending on a person's culture and religious beliefs. So, of course, he wanted to know all about these other names and I thusly proceeded to rack my brain for all of the things I could remember from my World Religion course in college. He was most intrigued with Buddha. He has visited the Buddha exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum here in Sacramento, and has seen a few figurines of them in our home. He asked about Buddha and we started a conversation about Nirvana. (No, not the band, although he may have been equally intrigued!)
I tried to explain it is like Heaven in that it is a place of peace in your mind, but I dare say that I did a poor job of explaining what Nirvana really is. However, my son seemed content with my lackluster explanation and went on his merry way to school. On the way home that afternoon he gets in the car and says to me, "Mom, guess what?"
"What?" I say enthusiastically....I'm thinking he's going to actually tell me what he did at school today instead of give me the usual response of 'I don't know.’
"Brandon* knows all about Nevada! He told me all about it today!" [My son pronounced it 'Nevahda'.] "You mean Nevada, the state, right?" I ask.
"No!!" He says emphatically. "Nevada....you know, like with Buddha?"
"Ohhhh, you mean NirVANa." I enunciate for him.
"Oh, yes, Mom! Brandon said it’s about peace. And when you find the peace you die."
"Well, you two certainly have very deep conversations, don't you?"
"Yeah. So if I find peace then will I die?" Oh my gosh, how does a person respond to such a question from a kindergartener?
"Well, I think you can have a level of peace in your heart and mind and still be alive." I respond, but not really sure if what I've said is true or not.....these are matters we must all discover for ourselves, I think.
"Okay good, cuz I'm not ready for Nirvana. [Brief pause.] What's for snack?"
And in an instant, we're back to the really important question of the day. What IS for snack?
*Name changed to respect privacy of other child.
My yoga friends understand this, probably much better than I do, but the basic line of thinking for me now in my life is to be mindful....always present and always aware of how my every action and reaction affects the earth and its inhabitants-from my interactions with my son and husband to how I look the checker in the eye at the grocery store-my focus remains the same...mindfulness. I expect that it may take a lifetime to truly understand how to be mindful in a peaceful, non-thinking way, but at least I am headed down that path!
And that brings me to a lovely story my son recently told me. The premise for this story is that my son often asks about life and death...things I didn't consider much when I was his age, but then again, I was busy putting shiny skin-tight pants on my Barbie and teasing up her hair to high heaven while my son is busy pondering LIFE'S GREATEST QUESTIONS.
Anyhow, we have been chatting a lot recently about God, heaven, and spirits. We somehow got into a discussion about how there are many words for God, depending on a person's culture and religious beliefs. So, of course, he wanted to know all about these other names and I thusly proceeded to rack my brain for all of the things I could remember from my World Religion course in college. He was most intrigued with Buddha. He has visited the Buddha exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum here in Sacramento, and has seen a few figurines of them in our home. He asked about Buddha and we started a conversation about Nirvana. (No, not the band, although he may have been equally intrigued!)
I tried to explain it is like Heaven in that it is a place of peace in your mind, but I dare say that I did a poor job of explaining what Nirvana really is. However, my son seemed content with my lackluster explanation and went on his merry way to school. On the way home that afternoon he gets in the car and says to me, "Mom, guess what?"
"What?" I say enthusiastically....I'm thinking he's going to actually tell me what he did at school today instead of give me the usual response of 'I don't know.’
"Brandon* knows all about Nevada! He told me all about it today!" [My son pronounced it 'Nevahda'.] "You mean Nevada, the state, right?" I ask.
"No!!" He says emphatically. "Nevada....you know, like with Buddha?"
"Ohhhh, you mean NirVANa." I enunciate for him.
"Oh, yes, Mom! Brandon said it’s about peace. And when you find the peace you die."
"Well, you two certainly have very deep conversations, don't you?"
"Yeah. So if I find peace then will I die?" Oh my gosh, how does a person respond to such a question from a kindergartener?
"Well, I think you can have a level of peace in your heart and mind and still be alive." I respond, but not really sure if what I've said is true or not.....these are matters we must all discover for ourselves, I think.
"Okay good, cuz I'm not ready for Nirvana. [Brief pause.] What's for snack?"
And in an instant, we're back to the really important question of the day. What IS for snack?
*Name changed to respect privacy of other child.
posted by The Well-Rounded Child at
10:56 PM
2 Comments:
While we don't have the intolerance issue (except dairy which I can tolerate only in small amounts, and Tristan has never had a sip of cow's milk - but he does eat yogurt), we do have the health in general issue - and lord the bottom line is all the junk people really put in their bodies, and it spills right on over to restaurants as well. I can relate in trying to find something decently healthy at a place like Disneyland, and yes, fries are usually the best one can come up with. I can only imagine the added difficulty in the gluten-intolerance because it, like sugar, is in so much of our food. I'm constantly trying to give Tristan only sugar-free items and it is hard. Usually when we go out, I end up bringing food from home for Tristan so I know what he's getting at least. You'd think with so many people these days being lactose and gluten-intolerant that a place like Disneyland (or even our local Sacramento Zoo!) would have more choices.
and I love the conversation with your son about Nirvana. What an inquisitive mind he has!
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