The Crisis of Birth: Understanding Independence and Responsibility : หน้า 77/164

And what is our biggest crisis? Birth. When the umbilical cord is cut, we become independent, and we have to find the four elements for ourselves. When we first start out in life, we are not only the weakest and the poorest, but also the most ignorant. We bring nothing into this world with us. If we had no mother, no caregiver, or if our birth mother chose to abandon us, we would be about as valuable as a piece of garbage. "We take so much for granted. We don't have a contract for our birth and mothers know this. We, as humans who are just re-born, are expensive and extremely demanding, and it sometimes destroys the health and the wealth of the mother. But mothers do not give up! We have a huge debt of gratitude toward our mother, and it is never too late to think of this. "When we are born, we must breathe for ourselves, drink our own water and milk, and then somehow provide for clothing and food. We must help ourselves as much as possible: We must learn to help ourselves! And we must meditate in order to see cause and effect. "Of course, we must also be careful of the way we use these four elements. First, we must think of quality, because if the things that we use in our lives are not of good quality, they may affect our health. Most people only understand physical quality but they do not even think of spiritual quality. Second, we much think of quantity, because we should not have too much or too little. Third, we think of the technique by which we help ourselves, or we are helped, to these elements. How are those things prepared for us or how do we prepare them? Are they done with great care, and do we respect the way we or others are preparing them? If we are handled with love and devotion, or if we are cared for in an affectionate manner, then those elements are valued in a particular way. If not, however, then those elements have a different meaning for us. Technique is vital because that is the origin of all of our habits. Fourth, timing. If, for example, the mother brings milk at odd times, perhaps because she is poor or because the baby cries for a long time, the baby will suffer. This may cause ulceration because of irregular feeding. It will also cause the baby to be ill-tempered. Habits, remember, start from the cradle. If the mother overfeeds the baby or leaves the bottle in the baby's mouth, the baby will be good tempered, but lazy. But, if the mother feeds the baby on a regular schedule, the baby will be aware and communicative. As you can see, even from one common practice of feeding children, different habits are formed. Diapers are another example. If children are left with wet diapers on, then bad habits are formed.