"Borned"

     A newborn boy asleep in his mother's arms. A puppy curled up with his brothers. A foal standing on its feet for the first time. When you think of a baby (animal or human), you usually think of a smaller, considerably less developed version of its parents right?
     What does it mean to be born? Does it mean to "be brought forth?" To begin new life? Does it simply mean to start something new?
     If we limit the definition of being born to new life, to the mammal process of developing for a time inside the mother and then brought forth, tiny and vulnerable in comparison to the parent, then we are simply being scientific and analytical.
     But since we are in the realm of science for the moment, what of the other animals? What about plants? For birds and reptiles, which have eggs, you are not born you are hatched. For most plants, you either come from a seed or a root and you sprout. Yes. Sprout. Sprout forth and multiply.
     According to one child I encountered, if you were something new - if you had a beginning somewhere (regardless of how you began or what you were) - you were "borned." You had entered the world. Brand new. Brought forth. Borned.
     And that included ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. They all had a beginning. They all originated somewhere. I found that thought to be so profound. We humans come up with ideas and inventions all the time. So when an idea is created, it is born.
     If this is the case, cannot some things be reborn? Taken and changed around so much that it can be called completely new? Indeed they can. And it can be best observed in society and human life. For example: the United States of America. Democracy was not a new thing when the nation was founded. It had been around hundreds of years before in Greece. But, in the eighteenth century, when the USA was still known as a bunch of colonies, a group of men came together to recreate democracy into a republic. I'm not going to say anything about the state of the country as it stands right now, but when it started out, it was a fantastic idea. The USA was born.
     But what about a human? Is it possible to be born more than once? Physically no. But what about mental state or lifestyle? Well, ever heard the phrase "new man?" History is full of men and women whose lives have changed dramatically. Countless stories have the classic plot line of "the man who learned better."
     I have seen people, both men and women, who thought themselves good so overcome with guilt and shame that they were in anguish and tears - to the point that you thought they were being tortured to death from the inside out. Have you ever seen a grown man cry? Personally, it pulls me apart inside. My stomach twists up and I don't know what to do. (Usually I'm so empathetic I end up crying too.)
     And then have those same people come back, changed for the better. To have guilt flood your heart and mind - and then to be forgiven. The joy. The peace. Oh to see a life hit rock bottom and then become an amazing person. To witness such an event. There is nothing like it in this world. The one thing that even comes close is to watch a mother give birth. The pain and then the joy. And it still dims in comparison to watching someone be born again.
     To be born is a miracle. To be borned - that's a God thing.