Tuesday, May 30, 2017

The Holy Trinity


When we all got together for May's birthday, she gave me a present- the picture you see above. She found it at a Goodwill and knew how much I'd love it. It's hanging beside my bed now with all of my special treasures. Madonnas and Fridas and some charms which have been made for me with love.
But I rearranged things to make room for that.

When I tell you that one of my main influences in how I tried to be a mother to my children was Flo, a chimpanzee mother that Jane Goodall studied and wrote about, I am not being flippant. It's true. And I think that may be a picture of Flo and her then-youngest baby with a male whose identity I am unaware of.
I don't know. It doesn't matter. The love between all of them is apparent.

To me, that picture is as beautiful and telling and profound as any artist's rendition of the Madonna and child. Of any portrait of any family. The mother cradles her baby and kisses her. The male holds them both. The mother's gaze on the child is as pure as any human mother's gaze on her infant. And the hands. All of the hands, holding each other.

And May knew that I would feel exactly this way about the photograph. She knew because she knows me, because she knows that I think this is a representation of what holds the universe together.
Quite literally.

You can have your Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

I'll take the chimpanzees holding each other close in adoration.

Thank you, May. I love you. I love you like that mama chimp loves her baby.

Always...Mama


12 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful and holy depiction of love.

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  2. How lovely! The gift, the symbolism and that it's from your child.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  3. Oh goodness- I love that photo. It's just perfect. I have definitely seen you look at me that way, and I know I look at my baby that way too.
    So beautiful. Good find, May!

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    1. Oh, Jessie! I love you so!
      And yes- that was an excellent find of May's!

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  4. Wow...this post made me cry...I think that gift is just perfect for you!

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  5. what a fabulous photo. humans are so arrogant.

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    1. We ARE! We think we invented everything, including love.

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  6. This is beautiful. Thank you for this picture.

    If you have a free evening and a netflix account, watch Virunga, the documentary about a national park with gorillas in Congo - slightly bigger animals but they will move you as will the humans who look after them. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeGaacZwhvQ)

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.