The Atom and the Drop

I spent a delightful evening at the Thursday Devotional Meeting with our friends George and Bonita, sampling treats. Not the tea, which was wonderful, but observing the gentle dance of spirit between these two steadfast, and very different, yet absolutely united friends. Their varying approach to the wonders of life is fascinating. My heart is still singing with their love and friendship, and my body vibrating with the prayers and music.

Both George and Bonita greatly enjoy listening to all sorts of music. Her hearing is sensitive, and in music, I feel Bonita likes to stand at the edge of the music free to dive or to dabble, but not to have her senses overwhelmed with the volume. At one point she said, so sweetly and gently, "I can feel the music vibrate in my heart muscle, and I don't think it's good for my heart," when the volume reached a certain level [she was seated near the speaker.] George tends to edge up the volume, and my intuitive feeling is that he enjoys being completely immersed in the music, up to his ears.

It reminds me of the differences in Christians in regards to the practice of baptism; some feel it is sufficient to sprinkle, and some like to submerge their entire body in water, in their symbolic reunion with God and commitment to His Faith. I would say, in music, Bonita is a sprinkler, and George is a dunker.

With food, Bonita has achieved a high level of mastery in her fascination with cooking, creating complex flavors, colors, scents, and combinations of nutritious foods in her dishes. In cooking, Bonita is a dunker. George benefits from her cooking, taking delicious entrees and tempting tidbits to work for his lunches, as well as their camping and picnics for which she prepares food.

I had this flash of thought which in a tiny way may answer a question I had about what God loves about us. I was thinking about all the various and joyous spirits, all the beautiful souls I know, and how in a way I wish I could just jump in and spiritually immerse myself in enjoying their soul. Love is not a spectator sport.

When God is in our hearts, does he not love us so much that he might delight in being with us? We are not perfect, but we were created noble. Although God, being the Unknowable Essence, does not reside in any physical place, still could He be, on the spiritual plane, attracted to us and immersing Himself in the miniscule flashes of wonderfulness reflected in the human heart, however humble? Maybe God is a dunker of sorts.

How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop.

Baha'u'llah