The Words of the Huish Family
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The Words of the Huish Family |
Last night I had a dream:
My memory of the dream is sketchy -- I only remembered having the dream during my morning run some time after waking up. The significant feature of this dream was the presence of Hyun Jin Nim. I think I bumped into him in a cafeteria during a conference at which I had presented a report about the interfaith work I have done. We didn't have a meaningful exchange, although he acknowledged my contribution to the conference. I had the feeling Hyun Jin Nim had a lot on his mind, so I respectfully gave him some space, but I felt happy and comfortable to be in his presence.
That's all -- nothing terribly significant on the surface of it. When I shared this dream with my wife, she then told me about a dream she had just had during the same morning:
Natasha was in a hospital bed being visited by many nurses although she was keen to be discharged. All of a sudden, Hyung Jin Nim appeared with a tray of food, offering her something to eat and drink. He encouraged her to rest and recover her strength. Natasha asked him if he didn't have any more important things to do, and although Hyung Jin Nim did not answer the question directly, he simply smiled and continued serving her, wishing her a healthy recovery.
These dreams have been influenced by real-life situations: I recently sent a letter to Hyun Jin Nim, which perhaps has been read by now. Natasha recently spent a few frustrating nights in a hospital after undergoing a Caesarian-section when our 3rd child was born.
Interesting.
Coincidentally, this morning after my run, I continued my reading of A Bald Head and a Strawberry, which I picked up again recently. While I had many realizations in the few pages I read, these words jumped out of the page:
"If we hold the worldview that others are objects to satisfy our wants then fundamentally we poison our hearts. When they don't give us any more satisfaction, we lose our interest, our compassion, our care for them. The relationship becomes conditional only on how well the other is pleasing us."
"This shows a fundamental ignorance to the fact that others, just like us, desire to find happiness and avoid pain."
The last line in particular made me remember something. Doesn't it remind you of a very familiar line from the Divine Principle? The first sentence, in fact, of the Exposition text reads "Everyone, without exception, is struggling to attain happiness and avoid misfortune". Having recently spent some time with the STF witnessing team, during which time I helped them study the Introduction, this connection revealed a new level of meaning to a phrase I have studied and repeated countless times. Suddenly, the struggle to attain happiness and avoid misfortune was no longer MY struggle, but a struggle shared by every other human being. How could I be so arrogant to not recognize that others are struggling just as much as I am?
The next step is to realize that the members of the True Family are also struggling in this pursuit, to "find happiness and avoid pain". I love Hyun Jin Nim and I love Hyung Jin Nim, or at least I want to love them. I hope the fact that Natasha and I are dreaming about these brothers demonstrates our passion for them and I hope we can serve and support them, and the entire True Family. As Hyun Jin Nim often encourages us:
"Together, we can dare to dream the greatest dream of all! Let us own the dream to create One Family Under God."