#29 Who's That?

Padaduli made an album of photos from a Valentine's Day dinner that we had at her home.

On the cover page there is a picture of Lore. When she gave the album book to Lore, she looked at the picture and said "How nice. For me? Who's that?"

We told her they were pictures from the dinner that we had a couple of days ago. Lore looked at the picture of herself a little longer and again asked, "Who's that?"

We thought that she was making a joke the first time, but she was serious!

"That's you Grandma!"

"That's me? I had no idea. I have white hair?"

And then again... pointing to herself and mouthing the words in disbelief,

"I have white hair?" 

That's not the first time that Lore had failed to recognize a picture of herself. The image that she has of herself is that of a woman with dark hair....probably a much younger woman. The 'changing body' has not registered in her mind...or has been forgotten.  Everytime when she looks in the mirror, her surprised comment is, "I have white hair?"  

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes to another body at the time of death. The self realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.

Bg 2.13

I used to think that this verse, regarding the self realized soul being bewildered by the change, referrred only to the time of death. I hadn't thought about the changes that happen while within the very same body... from childhood, to youth , to old age... can be equally bewildering and frightening. "Where did the time go? What is happening to me? What is happening to me? Why am I like this? Why can't I remember anything?"