If You Give Me Three Days of Light: The Best Collection of Helen Keller

Chapter 54 Teaching Report (4)
But she never asked what the words meant.She doesn't say anything when those words come up.No one had ever said "God" to her before.Until about February 1889, a relative of Helen's family, who was also an ardent Christian, tried to tell her the story of "God".However, the lady did not speak in a language that children could understand.Even so, these descriptions still left some impressions in Helen's mind.Later, when I talked to her, she said, "I want to tell you a very interesting thing. If someone says that God made me and everyone out of sand, then it must be a joke. I am Made of muscle and blood and bone, isn't it?" With that, she giggled, examining her arm contentedly.

After a while, she said to me, "The lady told another very ridiculous thing. She said that God represents all love and is everywhere. But I don't think a person can be made by love. Love only It exists in our hearts. The lady also said that God is my dear father. I laughed out loud because my father should be Arthur Keller." I used to explain things that Helen didn't understand at the time Listen to her so it's easy to get her attention and curiosity.Although you might think it would be better to wait until she is more sensible to tell her about such things, I insist that my method works better for Helen.

In the process of reading, she once came across the term "Mother Nature".Therefore, she will attribute all the things that are beyond the reach of human beings to the work of "Mother Nature".It even became a habit for a time. For example, when she talked about the growth of plants, she would say: "'Mother Nature' sent sunshine and rain to make trees and flowers grow." In the following text, we can see that Helen was some ideas.This is what I took from my notes.Once, after dinner, Mrs. H asked the thoughtful Helen what she was thinking, and Helen replied, "I'm thinking dear 'Mother Nature' must be very busy in spring, because she has many children to take care of, she Mother of all things, including flowers, trees and wind." I asked, "How does 'Mother Nature' take care of flowers?" Helen replied, "She sends sunshine and rain to make flowers grow." After a while she asked again. Added: "I think the raindrops are the tears of 'Mother Nature' and the sunshine is her warm smile."

She later added: "I know daisies and pansies grow from seeds in the ground, but kids don't grow from the ground, I'm sure I've never seen a 'plant kid' I think my mother brought me back from heaven, but I don't know where heaven is. I don't know if 'Mother Nature' really created me, and I can't figure out 'Mother Nature' Mother' made all those things, but who made Mother Nature, can you figure it out? I'm going to see my garden right away, or the daisies and pansies will think I've forgotten them I do. I love a beautiful spring because the budding branches, blooming flowers, and soft green leaves fill my heart with joy."

After May 1890, Helen's attitude towards religious belief changed significantly, because she had to deal with people around her every day.You can't isolate her from the religious beliefs of the people around her, and with the rapid development of intelligence, I am tired of her inquisitive inquiries.She wrote the following questions on her clipboard in early May:
"I wish I could write down all the things I don't understand. Where was I before I met my mother? What makes the sun hot? Who made the land, seas, and everything? Why doesn't the land fall? Yes Is it because it is big and heavy? I know that birds and chickens are born from eggs, but how did those eggs come from? Teacher, can I read that book called "Bible"? Can you Tell me something about the 'Father of Nature'? Do tell me when you have time."

After reading these questions, we can see that she does not fully understand such abstract things, but it is through this continuous development of thoughts and insights that the whole meaning of life is revealed.I don't think anyone doubts a child's curiosity and understanding anymore.

For a child, if his intellectual development has not reached a certain level, and he has not been given the opportunity to observe the creativity of nature, then you will not be able to explain those natural phenomena to him.Therefore, regarding Helen's education, I have always held such an attitude that no matter what it is, as long as it is what she is eager to understand, she will definitely understand it.That is to say, this kind of question has stimulated her intellectual activity, and she can understand your answer smoothly.Once the ideas in her head have matured, she will express her thoughts.These ideas seem to form out of the blue, so she can't wait to tell others about her feelings.

We passed a giant globe once, not long after she had written the questions, and she asked me, "Who made the real world?" I replied, "No one knows the earth, the sun, and How the worlds we call the stars came to be. But people are trying to explain their origin, and the sacredness and greatness of the forces of nature are gradually being revealed."

She knew that the Greeks enshrined many gods with different abilities, because the Greeks believed that there were independent beings with superhuman abilities in this world.It is they who created the sun, light, and hundreds of natural forces that cannot be achieved by human beings. I told her that people call this independent life entity with superhuman abilities.Called "God".

Helen listened, thought for a while, and asked, "Where is God?" "Have you seen God?" I told her that God is everywhere, and we should not treat God as a person.Divinity resides in the life, mind and soul of all things.She interrupted me and said, "'Everything' has no life, and rocks have no life, so they can't think." In the face of her argument, I had to resort to evasive tactics, because I couldn't explain to her the mysterious and abstract "An independent living entity".In fact, anyone far smarter than me would be helpless with her questions.

In addition, she asked me "What did God use to create the new world?" "Where did He get the soil, water, seeds, and the first animals?" In this case, I will remind her that there are still many things in this world that even the most knowledgeable and profound people cannot explain.

In fact, I know very well that I am not qualified to explain to her such mysterious problems as the soul and immortality in the name of God, because I cannot give perfect and proper explanations to such problems.So, out of a sense of duty to my students, I have to touch as little as possible on the topic of the spiritual world.Happily there was someone like Bishop Phillips Brooks who was able to explain to her the greatness of the "Divinity" in a wonderful way.

Because no one taught Helen any creed or commandment, and no one imposed the concept of religious belief on her.Therefore, in terms of understanding of "God", she has not been guided by any wrong ideas, and it is precisely because of this that I can't act rashly. Now, I don't let her read the "Bible", because I think the time is not yet ripe.But I have told her, in simple and plain language, of the love and greatness of Jesus, and of his tragic death.When she heard the story for the first time, she was deeply moved.

She asked me "Why didn't Jesus run away? That way his enemies wouldn't find him, right?" When I told about Jesus raising the dead, she looked confused and said, "I didn't know that life could go on." Go back to the body of death!" In addition, she was very puzzled by how Jesus performed miracles.When I told her that Jesus walked on the sea to meet his disciples, she immediately corrected her, "You don't mean walk, you should say swim."

Once, she asked me, "What is the soul?" I replied, "No one knows what the soul looks like, but we know that it is not the body, it should exist in our thoughts, love and hope." I think Tell her that the soul is also invisible.In other words, the soul does not have a specific form.Then I went on to say to her, "Besides, Christians believe that after the death of the body, the soul lives on." Then I asked her, "Do you think your soul can separate from your body?" She immediately replied: "Oh, of course, because my soul is in Athens, but my body is still here to learn."

Another time she said sadly, "I can't see or hear, so I can't see God." So I taught her the word "invisible" (invisb1e).I told her that we cannot see God with our eyes because "He" is a "spirit."However, when our hearts are full of kindness and tenderness, we can see "him", because we are most like "him" at that time.

I remember that about a year ago, we talked about the issue of heaven.I asked her why she didn't like living in that beautiful country called "Paradise".She first asked me, where is heaven?I had to confess that I didn't know, and I said, maybe heaven might be on a star.After a while, she said to me, "Can you tell me about heaven first?" Then she added, "What does heaven look like? Why do we not know as much about heaven as we do about foreign countries?" How much?" As long as this topic is mentioned, her questions will continue to flow.I tried to explain to her in the simplest language and told her that there are many places that can be called heaven, but these places must meet one of the most basic conditions - it can realize and satisfy all our wishes, that is to say , where there is justice, faith and love, there is heaven.

Recently, a deer used for Exhibition Hill was killed by her brother.She looked very sad.She asked sadly, "Why do all animals die, even the romping deer?" And I found that she had a clear fear of death.She asked me, "Can we be happy forever if we don't die?" I said to her, "No, because, if there is no death, our world will soon become crowded. Then, all It is impossible for creatures to live comfortably.” Helen said immediately, “But, I think God can create many worlds like ours.” Some friends told her that when you die, you go to another life, where ( There is great joy waiting for the dead, and she immediately asked, "You are not dead, how do you know?"

Just recently, when it was said that Hungarians are born musicians, she wondered, "Are they born singing?" Later, a friend added that in Budapest, he I have seen some elementary school students who can memorize more than 100 pieces of music in their minds.Helen laughed and said, "I think their brains must be very noisy." Obviously, she can see the ridiculous side of things at once, and she is not affected by any metaphor.In fact, she's often amused by her literal-mindedness.In a literal sense, she occasionally uses idioms and idioms.

It is not difficult to see from it that she can fully understand the meaning of those "adult words" correctly, which shows that social interaction is very necessary for her.I once told her that the soul is invisible, she said, so she found it difficult to understand David's words: "He guides my soul," she asked." Does the soul have feet? Can it walk? Is it blind?".Apparently, in her view, being "led" was associated with blindness.

Of all the things that bewildered Helen, of course, for a considerable period of time we could easily have kept her from the vices and the scandals and kept her from such negative knowledge, but the evil It does exist again, and the great misfortune caused by it will gradually seep into her consciousness.As she continues to observe the people and things around her, she will see all kinds of ugly phenomena more and more clearly.The "existence of evil" and the suffering caused by it made her feel very sad.It was therefore necessary to explain to her the principles of law and punishment.However, she finds it difficult to reconcile the "divine fraternity" with the "sinkhole of evil".

One day someone told her about an incident where there was a terrible storm at sea and several lives were swallowed by the sea, so she asked, "If God is omnipotent, why didn't 'He' save those people?"

Once, she asked me, "Will God take care of us forever?" I replied, "Of course."

Unexpectedly, she continued to ask me: "Then why did 'he' cause my little sister to fall and hurt her head so badly this morning?" She asked me such a question about God's power and mercy. question.

I think, due to the meticulous care and influence of relatives and friends, Helen has inherited a kind of upright and straightforward character since the stage of intellectual enlightenment.She seems to know what a righteous conscience is, and she will happily practice it.She doesn't think making mistakes is intolerable.Of course, she doesn't think that making mistakes can be done without consequences.In her view, "pure souls" were as repulsive as "filthy sins."

(End of this chapter)