Terabithian Wisdom

This evening I watched one of my faves "Bridge to Terabitha", the film based on Katherine Paterson's work of genius. Many of my friends know that I love the book and the nuggets of wisdom that K. Pat draws on; well the movie too is simple and beautiful and makes me cry a lot. There is a scene in the movie where the three main kids Leslie, Jess and May Belle are riding home from church in the back of a pickup, when they get to talking about Jesus and the Bible. May Belle says that we are all vile sinners and those who don't believe in the Bible are damned to hell. Leslie asks, "Do you think that's true?" and Jess responds that the Bible is crazy but you've got to believe in it unless you want to be damned, "it's crazy, isn't it?" Jess confesses. Now the part that I love is what Leslie Burke says in response to Jess. She says, "You have to believe it, but you hate it. I don't have to believe it, and I think it's beautiful."

All too often it takes the eyes of an outsider to see see something in a refreshingly new light.

It's not included in the book, but at the end of this scene Leslie goes on to conclude that "God won't damn anyone to hell, he's too busy taking care of this." The camera then zooms out and Leslie is shown pointing to the serene landscape surrounding them. Leslie Burke, I concur.

I too love and appreciate the Earth. I find it fascinating and want to see it all. Though I haven't been out in a while I did manage a visit to my friend Marni's blog the other day and was struck by a portion of a Biblical verse that she found in Job 12:8 "speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee..." This old world has a lot of secrets and mysteries, as well as a lot of answers. Why not strike up a little convo with Mother Earth?