I heard a short tale I’d like to recount to you today.  A preacher I listen to related how a Jewish friend’s  grandma had just died, so he was telling Judah about this pillar of his family.  She’d survived the Holocaust, lived a long and fruitful life, was full of wisdom, and was the matriarch (or essentially leader) of their family.  He said one of her most frequent words to the family was: “Maturity is embracing your twelve year old self.” … What the what?  How is embracing your kid self maturity?

Along those lines, Zen Buddhism emphasizes the importance of having a Beginner’s Mind.  Jesus invites adults to have the faith of a child and goes so far as to say it is KIDS and adults LIKE THEM who will enter the amazing Reign of Love and have thriving and flourishing lives.  While there are many principles to be drawn from this, I’ll boil it down to two: DEPENDENCE and AWE.  Twelve year olds KNOW they are dependent on adults for food, shelter, transportation, and wisdom.  They are humble enough to admit there’s MUCH they NEED OTHERS for.  Likewise, they view life and the world with a sense of awe.  It’s full of magic, fun, wonder, and cool things that excite them.

With this in mind, today I invite you to practice being more mature … by embracing your twelve year old self.  Be more humble, choose depending on and learning from others.  See the world thru a child’s eyes, as the magical, wonderful, and exciting place it truly is.