Dedicated to my grandson/T.S. Eliot

T. S. Eliot wrote the following:

“We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring, Will be to arrive where we have started, And know the place for the first time.”

I have recently applied these words to a spiritual aspect of the grandparent/grandchild relationship, specifically in regard to my grandson, who is a 2 1/2 year old toddler. What, at the deepest level, constitutes the salutary nature of this bond?

The child , who is yet to capitalize on deductive thinking, is optimally at ease in the "moment." In a sense, he, (by the way, I refuse to succumb to politically correct writing, therefore, my pronoun is universal,) lives in the "now." Within this context, he is one with Reality. He is innocent, non self-conscious, unrestricted by convention; growth is before him, the mind of God, behind him. And, he is "now."

The grandparent, at the other end of the spectrum, is looking back on life, rather than forward. He has spent years becoming civilized, and, rightly so, it has protected and nourished him through the vissitudes of life. Now, however, he begins to perceive, almost imperceptively, that the entire journey has been sculpting his soul toward childhood. We lay our atoms down, trusting in the Sculptor, just as those atoms were once picked up, in our mother's womb.
These two souls meet at what Eliot calls, "the still point of the turning world." (Burnt Norton) Each is uniquely equipped to help the other into their 'future.' The child helps the aged into "simplicity." The grandparent helps the child into "growth."

On an earthy level, and all mysticism is utterly earthy, Grandma says to the child, "I've been there and back, it is a glorious adventure, everything will be fine." Grandchild says to the grandparent, "welcome Home, you have made it back to being itself, to pure love." All of this "communication" takes place solely through spiritual intuition, perhaps even, unconsciously. It is my belief that herein lies the spiritual meaning of the relationship.

Thanks T.S. Eliot, my friend, my mentor, in the Communion of Saints.

And, thanks, Thomas Howard, who wrote a great book on Four Quartets, called,

Dove Descending.