birds of a feather

Beautiful bluebird
See how she flies
Looks like she's
always goin' home
If heaven had a window
Where the sun
came shinin' through
Like a beautiful bluebird
I'd come flyin' back to you


***
A couple of comments from early 2006 that I posted in the blogosphere...

... I am wondering if you saw the article in yesterday's New York Times, entitled Are They Here to Save the World?. The article is a bit silly - it's in the Fashion & Styles section, after all. I had never heard of the term "Indigo Children" so I did some googling and before long I started to wonder if I might not be an "Adult Indigo."

I have NEVER been prone to New Age-type stuff - indeed I'm usually quite the skeptic. But somehow my guard is down with this concept. It feels uncanny how much I'm relating to it.

I'm wondering if you're familiar with this idea, and what you think of it. Is it a gimmick? For example, is it a clever repackaging of a set of psychological/spiritual attributes of the alienated, existentially challenged 20-21st century person? Or is there something to it? (Are you an Adult Indigo too?)...

***

... It makes sense to me to view "indigo" as a narrative, and for whatever reasons this narrative (portions of it anyway) resonates with me. I'm not sure what you mean by the "postmodern" but without Faith and the comfort it provides one can certainly feel quite adrift in the world.

Thinking about "indigo" more, there seems to be an unsavory, even dangerous "savior" aspect to it. Which might even be a dangerous idea for a child (or an adult) to have to deal with - overly high expectations. You're special! You're not just gifted - you're metagifted! That could create either a little monster, or psyche a kid out entirely.

And yet I like the emphasis the "indigo" idea places on the individual, especially those who feel on the outside. We live in a society that at bottom does not care about individuals. Our system (enforced by corporate and government machine bureaucracies, working in tandem) is about maintaining the status quo of the system and maximizing profits. It's not about individuals. It eats them up and spits them out.

If you're not in lockstep with the system (which rewards insiders, loyalists) one can feel really chewed up and very small and wonder what's the point and whether integrity matters.

But one's life and actions do matter. They matter in this life, this world, not just (as fundamentalist religions tend to emphasize) in the afterlife. It is a concept that needs reaffirming, I think, that an individual can be a force for good, and that many people, in their small, quiet ways can add up to be a very great positive force for change indeed.

I may be mixing apples and oranges, but it's reminding me of Rick Warren's "purpose-driven life" concept. (I haven't read the book but I was blown away by the account of the woman who harbored the fugitive with aid of the book.) So even if you're feeling lost - hang in there - you have a role to play, even if it's very small and you're not even sure what it is and how things will connect. That's a very useful, comforting narrative indeed.