“…you shall surely return them to your brother” (Devarim 22:1)
There he was lying on a side table in the lobby of our building. Alone. No one to claim him. A little lion finger puppet, on his back with a furry mane. I imagined someone had spotted him on the floor and brought him here to rest. Did his owner miss him? Did little fingers once fill the puppet’s body and bring him to life? There was a sadness to his presence, mingled with hope. If he was lost that meant he had a home, a place to return to, he had an owner.
I tried to imagine the little owner. A boy? A girl? I settled on a little 2 year old boy in overalls, delighted by the puppet’s antics as performed by his father. I could practically hear the shouts of glee and giggles of delight as the little boy heard the performance of roars and hollers. And then there would be the way his face was tickled by the mane. Well loved. Adored. His puppet.
Next, I imagined the tears when Lion was discovered missing. Were bags rummaged through and pockets turned inside out? Did his little owner understand that Lion still existed, somewhere, far off? Puppet ownership is no simple thing, especially when one is missing.
We may find the notion of being owned distasteful. Who wants to be beholden or answer to someone? “Be your own boss” “set your own pace” are mantras sold to us. Appealing indeed, you run the show. Therein lies the problem. With the illusion of running the show ourselves, we risk losing the greatest gift: realizing to Whom we belong. Belonging to someone can be appealing. When that someone is the One, ownership takes on a new meaning. It means we have a place to return, it promises that no matter how lost we are feeling the Almighty is waiting for our homecoming.
That little puppet looked well loved. He had been tussled and turned and had a couple of spots. Did this make him less worthy of return? The opposite in fact. His puppet-journey was a testament to his owner’s longing for reunion.
And so it is with us. We may find ourselves feeling detached. We may wonder if anyone notices our struggles. We may have days we feel a bit like that puppet, splayed on our back and longing for some attention. These are moments to treasure, if we allow them to be our soul-compass, pointing us home. We are all in need of some finding – it’s in the realizing that we find our way back. Like my imagined puppet-owner, the Almighty craves our closeness. We need only awaken to this possibility in order to return.
The next day that puppet was gone. Once again, I imagined the scene: little boy flaps his arms overcome by a mixture of joy and relief. Lion is once again with his owner and all is well in the world. We too can enjoy this kind of clarity, when we connect to the knowledge that our Owner is indeed waiting for each of us.
With love,
ilana
Last modified: December 15, 2019
