Ruby Isabella Cloete – 18 months old

Justin sent me this picture of his daughter a few weeks ago. When I first saw it, I felt the prick of tears behind my eyes.  At first, I passed the emotion off as incidental, probably due to a combination of life-things – transient, not requiring exploration. 

However, the picture itself refused to be passed over. So I stayed with it, with Ruby, letting it/her affect me. For me, this child, in this moment, captures the precious innocence inside us all – the underground, ever-present life-force that is a gift to us. It’s the part that is actually core to our essence – the birthplace of our dreams and the source of our lightness of being. 

Thank you, Ruby for this moment of self-remembering.

PS  Hopefully amongst all the pics from our childhood, there is at least one physical, if not a mental, image that captures our pure essence. I have a framed one of myself when I was about 2 years old. I keep it in my bedroom, as my personal reminder.