Domino Lessons

by Charles “Tom” Brown

The signs in the prison visitation room stated the many restrictions. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Dress a certain way. Act a certain way. However, in the middle of all of this, a free spirit was on the loose. A young boy, perhaps three or four years old, decided to have fun with the dominoes his dad was trying to put into a container. He picked up handfuls of them and gleefully began throwing them in the air. The more the adults tried to gather up the dominoes and get him to stop it, the more fun he had.

As I watched this scene, I thought of some things I’d like to say to this little fellow –

“Remain excited at the discovery of dominoes; it tells us there is significance in small things, when our eyes have gotten too focused on the big things.

“Keep laughing and giggling when you are surprised and delighted; it offers our ears the music of grace.

“Play with other children on playgrounds; it shows us that all people of all backgrounds can meet each other with open hearts.

“Keep talking to the dogs and cats and pigeons and the ducks; it reminds us that the spirit is present in all living things.

“You have the gift of innocence. You have the gift of dreams. When we see you laughing and playing, throwing those dominoes in the air, our spirits take wing. When we lift you and hold you, we are consecrating a World of hope.

“You are hope when our hope has dimmed. You are joy when our hearts are heavy. In you we see the world as we dream that it could be.

For you remind us what it means to be alive.”