Mary Poppins rescued a family that had its priorities askew. Mr. Banks was preoccupied with financial concerns to the point of shutting out his family.
"Upsidedownish," Mary called it. The children were compelled to teach the parents how to love one another. Because they had forgotten, amidst the distractions of dinner parties and
corporate deals. Flying kites. Kisses at bedtime. Playing with words. Sweeping the floor. Dancing in the parlor. Reaching for stars. Feeding the birds.
Perhaps all of us get upended from time to time.
Then, in the aftermath of what felt like a colossal loss, Mr. and Mrs. Banks remembered. Instead of squeezing each other out, they relearned how to let each other in. To listen. To be grateful.
As if by
magic, it all swiveled back into place. Mary Poppins could fly off with her umbrella. Jane explained it well.
"We don't need her anymore, but other families do."
When we land back on our feet we are able to dance for joy again. And there is not a word in the dictionary big enough to express it.
When people love themselves instead of the Lord it looks to the angels as if they are upside down.
-Emanuel Swedenborg, Divine Love and Wisdom 275
