Revealing the Concealed

This post is for my new nephew, Jacob. He is the first grandchild on my side of the family! What I love about him right off the bat is that he is adopted. I have always, always had a heart for adopted kids. I do not have children of my own, but if I did, they would most likely be adopted too. I also love his multiracial heritage, something that gives him a special uniqueness.

Jacob was born on Christmas day (fitting, given that my whole family was together this Christmas, celebrating the holiday and having no idea that a child was being born who was about to become a part of our future). He was born to parents who were dealing with pretty difficult and extreme circumstances, as is true for many children given up for adoption. So I am all the more glad that he’ll be taken into my brother and sister-in-law’s home, a big step in improving his quality of life. He now has a chance to thrive, not just survive (as would most likely have been the case if he was not adopted). How can you not feel excited about that? (And as a side note, I wish adoption was on more people’s radar…there are so many adults out there who desire children and so many children who need a home. Seems like a win-win option that is too often overlooked).

But, I’m not writing this post to talk about the benefits of adoption so much as I am writing it to celebrate Jacob’s birth, to celebrate his arrival into our family, and to say that I am so, so glad that I will get to be his aunt. He will be a precious nephew to me, deeply loved and deeply wanted. Welcome Jacob.

There are many ways to see in life. I guess these ways relate to the many dimensions through which we understand the world…the mind, the emotions, the physical body, the soul, etc. I’ve been thinking lately about the intellectual approach to life, as I’ve been interacting recently with some people who are very smart, witty, and mentally sharp. I enjoy these kinds of people, because in many ways I find them stimulating. However, I’ve been noticing again how empty the intellect can be if you don’t have a spiritual understanding that accompanies it.  You’re left with only the mind, and it is so fallible and limited and often repetitive. But things of the spirit have no limit. They are infinite. There are no bounds. There are always new depths to explore. To me, this is more fascinating. It is a totally different way of seeing, literally a different lens over the eyes that changes your perception of everything.

There is something that can be quite hard about receiving. This may sound surprising in some ways, because generally the idea of receiving is something everyone likes. Who doesn’t want to receive a gift, a paycheck, a compliment, a new friend, etc.? But sometimes I think it is hard to receive what we are offered, because we are fixated on what is not there. Or, we have a “better” idea of what we really want, and this better idea blinds us to seeing what we are being given. We fall prey to dictating our desires and then become victims to the unintended consequence of finding it hard to receive.

I find I can experience more joy in receiving good things in my life when I have surrendered my own desires. Now, surrender can be a dirty word for some, so to clarify, I’m not talking about giving up desires, becoming desire-less, or any distorted thinking like that. I’m talking about a surrender of desires that leads to freedom. Not a burying of them in the sand, but a holding of them loosely so that they don’t control so easily. (Because is it not true that anything we desire strongly has the propensity to control us?) So, we don’t become free from desire, we become free from its control.

Once this has happened (an often circuitous and arduous process for sure), I find I can more happily receive the gifts that come into my life. I am less likely to overlook them or take them for granted when they appear. I walk more easily into gratitude.