WE ARE ALL ANGELS

A child is born and everyone is delighted. They ooh and aah over the precious little one but no one seems to take notice of one important detail. This scene of seeing a newborn and admiring the handiwork of life itself has been repeated millions of times for generations.

Each child that is born has the unique attribute of being an “angel”. Yes, there are television programs, books, magazines all dedicated to these heavenly beings. They are our helpers, our motivators, and our guides. They make us aware of some impending danger and they watch over children at night. Remember that beautiful old prayer “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep”?

In essence, we are all angels to each other. But we are angels with a flaw. We are born with just one wing. As a child, I heard stories about one-winged angels but never considered myself to be one. As the years passed, I met many of these one-winged delights, and saw this flaw in my own children. It may sound peculiar but I was grateful they were one-winged angels.

The power behind having one wing is immense and awe-inspiring. You may be privileged to know the two-wing angels and that’s just great. I, for one, marvel at the knowledge it took to make one-wing models. If you have two wings you can fly and do whatever you want, when you want to and the ability to get a lot accomplished is wonderful. I feel a bit sorry for the two-wingers because they get to do everything by themselves. We one-wing models need each other. Oh sure, we could accomplish what we set out to do with only one wing but it would take a lot more effort and a lot more time. Consider the alternative - you have one wing, I have one wing and together we have two. We need to hold on to each other, to count on one another, and to be there for the other because we are one-wing. Whatever your personal belief in life is - marvel at the brilliance of creating beings such as these. You knew that they would be impatient to get things done, their work load would be ever increasing, and yes, their tempers would shorten with the time restraints. So the idea came to make them believe they are self-sufficient yet by nature they will need each other. How truly marvelous!

By having just one wing, our grandparents needed each other, our parents needed others, and as children it was always easier to play games and have fun with someone else. Even if you live alone, and have only one wing, books, music, television, or whatever source of information you may have, there just waiting for you is someone with another wing. It may be a writer who inspires you with their written words, or a musician whose music soothes your soul. Whoever it is, and whatever method is used to reach you, with two wings you have the strength and endurance to face a new day and accept the challenges and possibilities. Now this is truly deep - no one is ever really alone. Even if you are totally isolated on an island from all other human contact, you share your garden, or your fresh fish with the creatures that inhabit your area. Nature accepts and provides. It gives you the earth to plant, and you give your left-overs back through careful recycling, mulching, or feeding of assorted animals and life forms. It’s fun sometimes just to think of how this entire system works.

So let’s celebrate knowing that we each have one-wing and that to soar in the sky, to reach the moon, and to fly amid planets and other worlds, we need each other. In whatever method your other wing may come (personally, in the written word, music, or nature) accept the genius in the plan and rejoice that you are a one-wing delight to every
form of life on our planet. The possibilities are limitless, the challenges are many, and oh, the wonder of it all.
©Arleen M.Kaptur 2002 June