“The starting point is always Innocence. …a gentle reminder of the wholeness and simplicity we knew at our beginnings, and as a promise that we are finally coming home. Innocence is our first nature, and from it flow all possible right relationships…with ourselves, with others and with the Divine.” ~Ralph H Blum & Susan Loughan in The Healing Runes
When I drew the healing rune Innocence, I was reminded of the thing that so many of us lose when we get too busy with society’s life…Innocence. We forget how simple life can be. There are times within a day or week that I find myself getting overwhelmed with the drama and illusion that is being played out in everyday life. I start to forget the simplicity of Innocence. It is much like setting out to cook a magnificent stew and then forgetting it and leaving it unattended and ending up with an overcooked mess. That simple presence, our zen beginners mind of innocence, is the key ingredient in our life stew. When our monkey mind gets the best of us with it’s dry analyzing, it’s easy to lose life’s juiciness.
There may be many reasons why we forget this very simple yet very precious gem of innocence…but what is more important is that we learn to integrate new ways to maintain it in the middle of this very busy and chaotic world. There are so many practices that can help us access the wide eyed magical child in us that knows how to begin again and again, free from all of our preconceived notions. Pick up a paintbrush, sit very still, dig in the earth, sing in bliss, dance like mad. Shake free from the weight of history and memory and rediscover the magnificent treasure of purity that lies inside you. Choose to believe in unity, simplify your life, and establish harmony where there is dissonance. When in prayer, remember your child-like innocence and offer it up with an open heart.
“Allow yourself to feel, once again, the joy of Innocence, and know that you are being healed. For it is through healing that we reclaim our lost Innocence.”