she's so tiny!

Shes so tiny but i held her.. and felt the tiny wisdoms seeping into my arms.. the same arms that thought they were wiser by age and time and imbalanced experience..

I kept holding her and she squirmed ever so slightly.. arms stretched out and eyes fluttered wide open.. searching mine she spoke to me.. asked me what I wanted to know - when I expected weakness from a sweet little bundle there exuded a profound strength! .. in this 2kg human being, expressing her new entry to the world as a tiny precursor to greatness!

my eyes clouded over, she closed her eyes - not quite dismissively and smiled, knowingly. "its ok, aunty shafs", she seemed to say.. let me rest a little while and then we can start taking on the world together! she teased me with that thought and allowed that smiling demeanor to carry her into dreamland.
Left with a resounding thought.. musical and manifest, I marvelled at lifes beauties, tiny and soul enriching..

I couldnt put her down, mesmerized as I was.. so I held her some more.. the smile hadnt quite faded, content she was, of her own accord.. showing her deep understanding of the secret of life that we in adulthood have long forgotten.. her baggage of delight making her the mini-master of the journey ahead; our choice to forget the great secrets making us meager beggars lacking salience, lost in the labyrinth of a laboured life and reduced to scavengery in a sordid sea..

I looked down at her once again and realised.. that she had all the answers to life.. she represented the answer to life.. Life, this Child of Universe.. this marvel of Gods Creation.. this reason for everything to be set right in the world!

*in tribute to my newborn niece, Madeeha, daughter of Dilshaad and Mohammed Gaba Ebrahim; born 21 July 07

http://www.netcare.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=121&BabyID=98655

The Cycle of Birthing

Lifes manyfold cycles are pretty incredible. When one stops to think of the myriad miracles that dot our path – and I am not just speaking of the bright shiny blinding moments of tear-filled joys – I mean the everyday mundanesses that carry us from the beginning to the end. How many times does one get to be born. Conception, the time span in the womb, birth.. growth.. feeling and finding ones way through the maze of life.. all forms a pattern of rebirthing, growing.. and extending ones reach into the greater expanse of life the journey. But then the big question arises: how much time in the womb? And who decides. This nagging question has just been planted in my seeded mind from the birth of my baby sisters own little baby. The new arrival to our family, a pink bundle of sweetness, was born just a day ago on the 21 July 2007 weighing in at a tiny 2.1kg and at just 35 weeks. She arrived without fuss, within the hour of her stunned parent’s arrival at the hospital at 5:45am. Even the OBG seemed pretty flabbergasted. Stories of her speedy delivery reverberate through the hallways all day, and I presume will continue for a great many years ahead, setting the trend for her socialization. Her scientific ETA nicely sidelined by destiny. Her entry into the world thus announced! It seems she had had enough of the comfort zone and it was truly time to get out and make some noise! So then this brings me back to my question: as far as living in the comfort zone goes.. when exactly is it time to make it out into the real world? Or the next phase as it may be. This is my newest challenge. A rebirth required, most fervently. And a more than gingered step into the great unknown!