Living in Two Worlds

A fat old pigeon waddled up, really close to me in the garden. I thought how stupid he was… I was digging. A blackbird came looking for worms, close to my spade. I thought he was inquisitive, intelligent… A friendly little robin hopped up to me by the pond, looking at me quizzically. Perhaps he had something to say to me…

I’m attributing human to characteristics to the birds, bringing them into my world. Perhaps they’re looking at me and wondering what this old fool is doing in their garden, their world!

A man was walking his dog beside a lake. He threw a ball out into the lake. The dog retrieved it – walking on the water!

The next day he brought his friend to see his dog’s miraculous qualities. He threw the ball into the lake again; the dog again retrieved it, walking on the water!

‘What have you seen?’ the man asked. ‘I’ve seen a dog who can’t swim,’ his friend replied.

One saw a miraculous walking-on-water dog; the other saw a disabled non-swimming dog.

Yesterday…

…Hearing an old country song that tells the sad story of a woman at a wedding. The man she loves is marrying someone else. ‘Though my heart may break tomorrow, I’ll be all smiles tonight.’ Two worlds… her external presentation of smiles on a happy occasion, her internal feelings of sadness and unrequited love.

…Visiting a couple of friends in hospital. I was deeply aware of the two worlds there… A world of sickness, uncertainty, anxiety, pain, suffering, helplessness comes together with a world of compassion, dedication, expertise, humour, healing and hope.

…Remembering Jesus describing the Kingdom of Heaven as a farmer who plants wheat in his field. His enemy plants weeds among the wheat and the two grow together…

…Musing on parallel worlds that I live in – good and bad, happy and sad, sensible and mad… ugly and beauty-full, warring and peace-full, despairing and hope-full… And Jesus’ farmer saying, ‘Let both grow together until the harvest.’