Unitarians
Originally uploaded by riddle.
I know we confuse and confound, what with the lack of dogma and the openness. But please please don't feel compelled to shoot us. If not for good reasons like it's wrong to kill, then at least because we are such a small minority as to be completely harmless.
I promise you my loving care,
I promise to hold you aloft so you might see further than we can.
Providing you both roots and wings,
That you may feel safe, that you may one day fly.
What you decide, your actions, will determine our world. Our responsibility is to support you in knowing right from wrong, in giving you the tools to be a just and compassionate person.
We promise to help foster a strong family and community, reflecting the many ways of living, learning and of being happy.
We promise our best selves - to show her the many paths and to give your choice, even if that choice is not our own.
We pledge ourselves not to hinder you in your search for truth and to teach you to respect the inherent worth of all people.
This past weekend, the family attended the Annaprashan of my dear friend's daughter, Anusha. An Annaprashan is a ritual celebrating the taking of the first solid foods. Anusha is six months old and on the designated day, the family makes 20 different dishes and her paternal uncle or grandfather feeds her some of each. We also blessed her with kernels of rice. Although no one told me the specific meaning, I can think of a few fitting meanings - like abundance and wealth.
The actual day was on a Wednesday, but the family threw a big festivity on a Saturday, so that we could ALL enjoy the wonderful Indian food!
We noticed a few things:
Indians don't have any prohibitions about feeding babies honey. At least this crowd didn't. One friend told me that they encourage it, to give babies sweet voices.
Indian women dress up; Indian men dress down. Even Das, Anusha's father in the gold tunic, was wearing comfy old jeans underneath. But NONE of the women were dressed down. Not a one.
Babies love Bollywood. No one here is surprised.
All in all, I like this ritual. It made sense. To my mind, it seemed a pretty earthly religious ritual, couched in practical considerations. It's makes sense to celebrate that the baby could survive now, without mother's milk, on rice and food. In a world that is not always giving and abundant, this is a valid milestone.
In other news, we are dog sitting for my aunt and uncle. Two ageless pomeranians who we've dubbed Vampirus and the Undead. Seriously, the one dog might be 16 years old. Before they left, I had a long discussion on what to do if the dog dies. I really hope she doesn't die - that'd just be annoying.
