Many times, when my son calls, his first words are "Are you safe?" He's teasing. But, for much of my life I felt (because I was) "unsafe." When I told this to my husband, David, he could not relate. "What do you mean by 'safe?'" he would say. But his upbringing, while nothing like mine, was equally as crazy.
When I was raising my children the "unsafe" issue emerged often, but I was determined to raise strong, healthy, decision making, risk taking adults.
Of course, I couldn't protect them from scary, tragic moments but I wanted them to have the tools to get through it.
But there are worse things than feeling unsafe.
Last week I read an ancient zen saying that moved me but I wasn't sure why. I read it to a couple of people and it left them figuratively head scratching.
But then, while I was walking around Lake Lily this morning , it came to me. The Zen saying is the polar opposite of of what I wanted for my children and for myself, and everyone else in my world. But I see it around me all the time.
Breaking the Jar
A man raised a baby swan in a glass jar, but as the bird grew it became stuck in the jar. The man was caught now, for the only way to free the thing was to break the jar, killing the swan. - Zen saying
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