Editorial May 14, 1977 Issue

Innocence Without Naïveté

Nathan A. Talbot

Each of us feels a tug toward innocence. It's a natural spiritual impulse. We may not fully recognize it. We may even resist it— and in the process feel some turmoil. But the desire for it is always there. Sometimes our reluctance to respond to an inherent innocence grows out of a subtle fear of being thought naïve. Although innocence is sometimes equated with naïveté, there is an important distinction. True innocence is a special gift from Soul. It is a spiritual attribute that makes us feel pure and good.

Naïveté often suggests an ignorance of the world and an inability to cope with it. Actually, a genuine innocence enables us to best deal with worldly challenges, while someone engulfed in a sensuous life will, in the long run, find himself ill equipped to contend with his world. We don't have to be naïve about the world while we strive to develop a full recognition of our true innocence.

In reality God maintains our original purity, untainted by worldly concepts. His sustaining presence upholds our eternal, sinless nature. The human concept that we have fallen from grace is a lie. That we are victimized by original sin is a fallacy. That we are corrupted is a distortion of Truth. Our true nature is blameless because God is blameless. God alone is the only cause, and He is good. Each of us has a deep-rooted longing for that fact to be fully known and felt, and this longing inevitably blossoms. As we nourish it, shelter it, and let it lead our thought, we will find our uninterrupted innocence coming to light.

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