Cry inward

Cry inward by HENRY J.M. NOUWEN

A split between divinity and humanity has taken place in you. With your divinely endowed centre you know God's will, God's way, God's love. But your humanity is cut off from that. Your many human needs for affection, attention, and consolation are living apart from your divine sacred space. Your call is to let these two parts of yourself come together again.

You have to move gradually from crying outward - crying out for people who you think can fulfill your needs - to crying inward to the place where you can let yourself be held and carried by God, who has become incarnate in the humanity of those who love you in community. No one person can fulfill all your needs. But the community can truly hold you. The community can let you experience the fact that, beyond your anguish, there are human hands that hold you and show you God's faithful love.

我們家小寶貝Ruth，如同多數親子教養書中所講的，開始懂得用哭做為工具來威脅我和Rainbow，這不僅反映在生活必需的需求上，開始表現出來在情感上。在我早晨離開家去上班前，她已經開始會使用哭來希望得到能挽留住我多抱她個幾分鐘，又或許她心想能得到我能帶她一起出去的機會。不過，聽Rainbow說，等她確定我關上門後的兩分鐘內(這速度或許比我搭電梯到一樓還快?!)，多半會停止哭聲轉向她有興趣的玩具，或是吃手指玩頭髮尋求自我安慰。所以我覺得這其實算不得是種威脅，哭是無法言語的她表達內心需要的唯一方式!

很好奇，一個人成長過程是甚麼時候開始學習(或者是懂得)自我尋求安慰與鼓勵? 其實，生命的安排就是會有一群天使在我們身邊，可能是家人、朋友、兄長、或者是公司的老闆，你認為他們是派來管你的? 他們也可以是來幫助你的，如果你內心懂得需要幫助!