Before I get to the crux of my weekly musing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your amazing response to, Wholetones Chroma, and Wholetones Christmas Volume 1.
And if you haven’t heard Wholetones Christmas yet please visit: www.wholetoneschristmas.com
I think you will be amazed! And if you want to experience the combination of both light and sound together, visit: www.wholetones.com/chroma it is a truly groundbreaking project.
I recently became an uncle to the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.
My niece’s name is, Gabriella and she is beautiful inside and out. The first time my brother in law and his wife brought my niece over for a visit, something wonderful happened, our dog, Zivah would not leave her side for a moment! It is amazing how innocence responds to innocence. Innocence has a fragrance that is incomparable.
Babies have an intoxicating scent of purity and utter dependence… and trust.
Unfortunately, as we age we often lose our innocence and childlike disposition due to our emersion in a corrupt culture.
Now here is what I want to develop in this letter: when I spend time with the elderly, I notice many of the traits of a child return. It is beautiful that in the twilight of our human experience, we soften… become peaceful… and eventually dependent on others once again. As you undoubtedly have surmised by now, I always challenge the status quo… you know—push the parameters of the accepted, “norm.”
With that being said, I often ask questions that undoubtedly demand a deeper question before the answer can present itself. On one such occasion, I asked the question, “if we enter the world with innocence, and often find it again just before we leave the world, then why can’t our innocence be restored now?”
Then I read this:
To all who are themselves pure, everything is pure. But to those who are defiled and without trust, nothing is pure—even their minds and consciences have been defiled. —Titus 1:15 (CJB)
The following excerpt from a commentary on innocence crystalizes my thoughts perfectly: “A well-known series of scriptures, beginning in Matthew 18:1, touches on innocence and its destruction. It starts with a question from the disciples: "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus replies that unless we become as little children, we will not be in the Kingdom of Heaven. Is not the beauty of their innocence and the harmless vulnerability of little children a major reason why we find them so adorable?
They produce no harm, shame, or guilt. But what happens as they become adults? They become sophisticated, worldly, cosmopolitan, cynical, suspicious, sarcastic, prejudiced, self-centered, cool, uninvolved, and many other negative things. They also seem to lose their zest for life. Sin does that.” —John W. Ritenbaugh.
And dear friend… sin is a free will choice!
Light or darkness, good or evil, love or hate, peace or strife, faith or fear, these are active choices that we are confronted with on a daily basis. Here is a rule of thumb that has served me well for many years, “be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil.”
Can your innocence be restored?
You tell me.
It has been said that we are never closer to God than when we come into the world or just before we leave it. Though I understand the premise of that statement, I can no longer fully embrace it as I am only half way along my journey and I have never felt closer to God!
There is much upheaval, tumult, and chaos happening in the world today and how we respond to it will make all the difference. If you become like a child again, instead of adding chaos to chaos, which only expands it, you will be at peace, thus diminishing it’s negative influence on others.
People love to be around babies, that’s why the maternity ward is the only happy place in a hospital… newborn babies change the atmosphere when they enter our world. Is it any wonder that Jesus said, “you must be born… again.”
This time of year always lends itself to introspection, you know, a healthy “self analysis” which often leads to making changes that can greatly enhance our lives moving forward.
Your innocence, imagination and childlike wonder are waiting for you to find them again… they are magnificent gifts from God that fools discarded along their way, all the while believing that they were wiser for doing so! May you enjoy this holiday season through the eyes of a child and in doing so, become one again as well.
Be Whole,
Michael S. Tyrrell
