I'm Made of Skin!
My four year old often says, 'I'm made of skin!' This is usually in response to a question I ask. For example, if we're playing a game and he's pretending to be something, I will say, 'Are you the tree?' or 'Are you the tornado?' and even 'Are you the monster?' He will say, 'No! I'm not! I'm a person. I'm made of skin!'
I explained that he's not only made of skin. He's made of much more. His skin is on the outside and it's what he can see. Underneath his skin are muscles, bones, blood and organs. There's so much more, below the surface. When I told him that, he said, 'It's a good thing I have skin, then. I wouldn't want all that stuff to come out and I wouldn't want to look at it! There would be blood everywhere!'
True. We don't want our insides on the outside. That wouldn't work. We have to keep all our valuable parts on the inside. Our skin has to protect our insides, but our skin in very delicate. It's easily cut or bruised. How can we protect ourselves?
We use our brains. Our brains are protected by our skulls. Our skulls are covered with skin and hair. We have more hair on our heads than anywhere else on our body, usually. Evolutionarily speaking, this is brilliant. Our most important thing is protected best. Our hearts are protected, but not as well. Our other vital organs are more exposed. We use our brains to make sure that the rest of our body stays in tact, if we can.
Those who are blessed with good brains have a tremendous advantage. Those who are gifted with fully-functioning bodies have even more advantage. I look at my boys, who have good brains and good parts. Everything works well. They haven't been critically ill. They are beautifully formed. All of their parts combine in totally unique ways to offer them every possible advantage in life. My job is to teach them how to use these gifts and keep them safe until they're ready to go out on their own.
My job is easy because of these fortunate circumstances. I didn't do anything to 'deserve' this and neither did they. It's simply good fortune, good genes and a healthy environment. Questioning these blessings would be an exercise in futility. Gratitude is not.
I explained that he's not only made of skin. He's made of much more. His skin is on the outside and it's what he can see. Underneath his skin are muscles, bones, blood and organs. There's so much more, below the surface. When I told him that, he said, 'It's a good thing I have skin, then. I wouldn't want all that stuff to come out and I wouldn't want to look at it! There would be blood everywhere!'
True. We don't want our insides on the outside. That wouldn't work. We have to keep all our valuable parts on the inside. Our skin has to protect our insides, but our skin in very delicate. It's easily cut or bruised. How can we protect ourselves?
We use our brains. Our brains are protected by our skulls. Our skulls are covered with skin and hair. We have more hair on our heads than anywhere else on our body, usually. Evolutionarily speaking, this is brilliant. Our most important thing is protected best. Our hearts are protected, but not as well. Our other vital organs are more exposed. We use our brains to make sure that the rest of our body stays in tact, if we can.
Those who are blessed with good brains have a tremendous advantage. Those who are gifted with fully-functioning bodies have even more advantage. I look at my boys, who have good brains and good parts. Everything works well. They haven't been critically ill. They are beautifully formed. All of their parts combine in totally unique ways to offer them every possible advantage in life. My job is to teach them how to use these gifts and keep them safe until they're ready to go out on their own.
My job is easy because of these fortunate circumstances. I didn't do anything to 'deserve' this and neither did they. It's simply good fortune, good genes and a healthy environment. Questioning these blessings would be an exercise in futility. Gratitude is not.
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