Children are naturally curious. About the age (which may vary from one child to the next) when they are starting to wonder about who they are and where they are and how they got here and why, wouldn’t it be good to tell them a story about all that? That is, a story that is both upbeat and metaphysically accurate. What follows here is my attempt to do just that.
Once upon a time (actually, before there was such a thing as time, but that is too hard to explain), there was a great being. This being was vast. Not big as such, since it didn’t have a body; but it was everywhere. And there was no one else.
The great being did not have a name. No name would really do for such a vast being, so let’s make up a fun, silly name: OmniPumpkin. This story is about the adventures of OmniPumpkin.
OmniPumpkin had quite the imagination. And magic; whatever OmniPumpkin thought up would become real.
But OmniPumpkin had no one to play with. And nowhere to play. That got OmniPumpkin thinking: What if I make up a whole bunch of beings to play with and all sorts of places to play? OmniPumpkin went to work on that. Ideas, lots of ideas. Really big ideas. Then concepts, plans, designs. OmniPumpkin put a lot of thought into thinking up the best game ever.
OmniPumpkin thought up colours and sounds. And numbers and shapes (and soft fuzzy things and hard pointy things). And up and down, and big and small, and hot and cold, and young and old. And galaxies and stars and solar systems and planets and moons. And puppies and kittens and sunsets and sunrises. And flowers and trees and ocean waves and lakes and ponds and toads and frogs. And laughter and music and songs and dancing. And, OmniPumpkin thought up something that would be called people.
When OmniPumpkin was sure that the game was ready, it was time to think it into being. With a breath, whoosh! – it was all set in motion.
Have you ever heard of the “Big Bang”? Well, that was OmniPumpkin’s big breathe-out.
In time (which meant nothing to OmniPumpkin, who had all the time in the world), galaxies formed, and stars, and planets. Soon enough, there were planets that were ready to play on. Each would be a gameboard for OmniPumpkin’s game.
Of course, OmniPumpkin wanted to play the game. OmniPumpkin had a plan for that. OmniPumpkin thought up little bits of itself that it pretended were separate from it. Lots of little bits of itself. Those itty-bitty pieces of OmniPumpkin would be players in the game. Every player, unique and special in its own way.
To make the game extra-special, OmniPumpkin made it so that the players would forget that they were really OmniPumpkin. They would all have amnesia, so that they would think the game was not only real, but the only thing that was real. They would get totally caught up in the playing. They wouldn’t even know they were inside a game!
One of the gameboard planets imagined and breathed by OmniPumpkin was a beautiful blue one (you know this one!) that OmniPumpkin called “Earth”. And OmniPumpkin picked you (among others) to come play here.
There is a “you” who you were before you came to play here on Earth. You will be that “you” again when you finish your round of “Earth Game”. That “you” did lots of planning before they jumped into Earth Game. They decided when and where you would be born. They picked your parents and, if you have any, your brothers and sisters. They decided what you would look like and what your special talents and gifts would be. They might even have whispered into your parents’ ears what your name would be. When all that planning was done, it was time for you to become a player in OmniPumpkin’s “Earth Game”.
Have you figured out who you really are? You are OmniPumpkin. Having an adventure!
Everybody else here is OmniPumpkin too. Every person, every puppy, every butterfly, every chickadee, every pine tree.
Everyone is a different piece of OmniPumpkin. Oh, all of OmniPumpkin is within you. But somehow you are like a single piece of a zillion-piece jigsaw puzzle. There is no other piece just like you. There is something about you that OmniPumpkin gave only to you. You are unique. Of course, so is everyone else.
So what do you suppose you should do here in OmniPumpkin’s fabulous game? Well, OmniPumpkin wanted to play here; that is why the game was built. So play! Explore, discover, adventure. Kiss, hug, laugh, giggle. Experiment; try things out and see what feels just right for you (being the unique thing that you are).
Of course, be nice to everyone else while you are here, since they are all OmniPumpkin too. There is a little bit of each of them in you, and a little bit of you in each of them. Explore their uniqueness, too. But especially, explore your own uniqueness, since OmniPumpkin thought that up just for you.
OmniPumpkin built many challenges into Earth Game, but only so the game wouldn’t be too easy or get boring. Make those challenges a game; know that OmniPumpkin built in all the clues and tools you would need to handle those challenges.
Like OmniPumpkin, you have a thinker-upper. Yours doesn’t (yet) work quite as spectactularly as OmniPumpkin’s did, but you can make it work for you here in Earth Game. The secret is to think a lot about things you like and things you want, and to think as little as possible about things you don’t like and things you don’t want.
Don’t forget to have fun along the way. Remember: you are OmniPumpkin’s adventure. They built a fabulous game just so they – that is, you – could play here. Enjoy their game!
When your adventure here as an itty-bitty piece of OmniPumpkin is over, you will go home. There will be a joyful celebration – a party! – to celebrate your adventures. Whatever happened during your adventure, your game here will be celebrated. No matter how the game played out, you will come home safe and sound and in time for dinner. You will be welcomed back with the biggest hug imaginable. No report cards, and nobody ever gets told they did something wrong or made a mistake. Whatever you learned and whatever you experienced will be OmniPumpkin’s to keep forever. You will again become part of OmniPumpkin (not that you ever really left).
Of course, if you decide you would like to play another round of “Earth Game”, you can plan another game here. OmniPumpkin will be happy to drop you back in if you ask. Which you almost certainly will want to do. Because OmniPumpkin really did make the best game ever.