(b) in Parenthesis: "Wanna make something of it?"

Expressing yourself can be really messy. Molding something out of nothing sometimes means getting your hands really dirty, mud under the fingernail, imbedded into the fibers of your clothes and generally saying I really don't care what I might look like when I am deep in the mud of this creative moment. But do you remember? The slippery goo of imagination oozing between your fingers as you scooped up a hunk of "what if" in each hand and squeezed as hard as you could. Watching its squishy formations and bubbling sounds explode from all sides of your tight fist; random art taffy. The soft bricks of Arthur's castle. Frivolous. Unbridled. Unblushingly joyful. Remember? Or have you forgotten?

Have I mentioned that C.S. Lewis is my favorite author?

Talk about someone who made mud castles and was willing to let the squishy goo of life and faith ooze from between his fingers. This morning I read a quote from his book, The Weight of Glory that led me to mud pie reflections:

"...if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Now, I admit I have done my share of "fooling about" with life's distractions. And I have paid more than the sticker price. I also admit that I loved playing in the mud of my early childhood. Adventuring, lost and inebriated from gulping handfuls of wonder and make-believe and magic; in my backyard, my room, the backseat of the car or inside my impenetrable castle made from sheets draped over the folding table. I was easily pleased.

This picture is of two children. Typical girls (albeit a bit soiled), just having fun? Imagining? Learning? Growing? Cute, huh? Makes you feel warm inside and maybe even smile? Me, too.

These two girls are part of the community I visited called Garbage City, found outside Cairo, Egypt. A small community built from mounds of sorted garbage? Adorned with mud, flies, rotting refuse and unblushing joy.

You see, they are "full-hearted creatures" who are experiencing the "unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels." No fooling.