NIGHT SEVEN · KALARATRI · CARRY IT INTO THE NIGHT
What Will You Carry With You?
Veda has learned to look beyond her first impression of Kalaratri.
She does not have to stop feeling uncertain to keep learning.
Sometimes, understanding begins with the choice to stay curious.
Veda:
“What was that?”
Veda:
“Should we go see?”
Ammomma:
“Not if we do not know it is safe.”
Veda:
“So we can stay here?”
Ammomma:
“Yes.”
Ammomma:
“You can be brave and still move away.”
Akka:
“And if something is only unfamiliar?”
Ammomma:
“Then we can pause, learn, and decide.”
Veda:
“So I do not have to go closer.”
Ammomma:
“No. Understanding does not require that.”
Not every uneasy feeling points to the same thing.
Some things are unfamiliar.
Some things are uncertain.
Some things are unsafe.
Curiosity can help us understand what is unfamiliar.
But curiosity should never ask us to ignore danger.
Curiosity does not mean ignoring danger.
Pause long enough to ask: Is this unfamiliar, or is this unsafe?
What helps you tell the difference between something unfamiliar and something unsafe?