Let’s start out with a question:
What is the meaning of 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 and 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31?
If you have been or are enrolled in dental school you would quickly recognize this is a chart of a person who has had their wisdom teeth removed. Back right top molar is number 1 and going around the top of the mouth until number 16 and you arrive at the left top back molar. Immediately below 16 is 17 on the bottom left of one’s mouth. Counting around the bottom teeth from left to right one ends up on number 32, the back right wisdom tooth. (If you have any wisdom teeth remaining.)
32 is a number that puts us in a direct relationship with sheep. They also have 32 teeth, although not the same kinds of teeth as we have. They do not have canine or upper incisors. To allow the sheep to graze, cut, pull grasses and chew the cud they have extra molars and their upper front ‘teeth’ are not really teeth but hardened skin that allows for their eating habits.
In this blog read the following passages and wherever you see ‘sheep’ try substituting ‘people’. Also if you read ‘people’ substitute ‘sheep’. It’s a great way of introducing our human/sheep similarity. Allow some variance of substitution since not all humans (and sheep) fit generalizations.
Sheep have no sense of direction, just follow whomever.
If the first few jump over a rope, and subsequently the rope is cut down, the remaining will jump over the rope anyway.
Sheep are a prey, their eyesight allows early warning of predators, but their design is not great for escape.
Sheep run away as a group - security in numbers - something sets the flock in motion and they all blindly follow.
Sheep can become ‘cast down’. This means when their short legs cannot touch the ground in a situation where the sheep is laying on its side the sheep will bloat up and die. They must have a shepherd to right them up.
Sheep have been and are prized possessions.
Sheep have a sense of hearing that allows them to recognize only their shepherds voice. They will not follow a stranger.
Sheep cannot lick their wounds and need a shepherd for hygienic care.
Sheep do not realize that they stink. They will drink from any available water source, clean or dirty.
Sheep, by their design, do not carry burdens.
Yes, a quick note about goats: they are known for being independent, opinionated, and curious at best - destructive, vulgar, and dangerous at worst.
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There are numerous references in writings about sheep needing a shepherd. In what form does the shepherd appear today in a human’s journey?
Is there evidence in human behavior that we continue to mimic routines and rituals that have no present day meaning?
Do humans successfully carry burdens? Or is a burden-less life a goal in itself?
Do we recognize a human as a priceless being?
What is the meaning of 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 and 18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31?
If you have been or are enrolled in dental school you would quickly recognize this is a chart of a person who has had their wisdom teeth removed. Back right top molar is number 1 and going around the top of the mouth until number 16 and you arrive at the left top back molar. Immediately below 16 is 17 on the bottom left of one’s mouth. Counting around the bottom teeth from left to right one ends up on number 32, the back right wisdom tooth. (If you have any wisdom teeth remaining.)
32 is a number that puts us in a direct relationship with sheep. They also have 32 teeth, although not the same kinds of teeth as we have. They do not have canine or upper incisors. To allow the sheep to graze, cut, pull grasses and chew the cud they have extra molars and their upper front ‘teeth’ are not really teeth but hardened skin that allows for their eating habits.
In this blog read the following passages and wherever you see ‘sheep’ try substituting ‘people’. Also if you read ‘people’ substitute ‘sheep’. It’s a great way of introducing our human/sheep similarity. Allow some variance of substitution since not all humans (and sheep) fit generalizations.
Sheep have no sense of direction, just follow whomever.
If the first few jump over a rope, and subsequently the rope is cut down, the remaining will jump over the rope anyway.
Sheep are a prey, their eyesight allows early warning of predators, but their design is not great for escape.
Sheep run away as a group - security in numbers - something sets the flock in motion and they all blindly follow.
Sheep can become ‘cast down’. This means when their short legs cannot touch the ground in a situation where the sheep is laying on its side the sheep will bloat up and die. They must have a shepherd to right them up.
Sheep have been and are prized possessions.
Sheep have a sense of hearing that allows them to recognize only their shepherds voice. They will not follow a stranger.
Sheep cannot lick their wounds and need a shepherd for hygienic care.
Sheep do not realize that they stink. They will drink from any available water source, clean or dirty.
Sheep, by their design, do not carry burdens.
Yes, a quick note about goats: they are known for being independent, opinionated, and curious at best - destructive, vulgar, and dangerous at worst.
===============
There are numerous references in writings about sheep needing a shepherd. In what form does the shepherd appear today in a human’s journey?
Is there evidence in human behavior that we continue to mimic routines and rituals that have no present day meaning?
Do humans successfully carry burdens? Or is a burden-less life a goal in itself?
Do we recognize a human as a priceless being?