The Question That Came Back

A retelling for children, based on Portals to Freedom by Howard Colby Ives (George Ronald, 1937).

Howard Colby Ives had a question, and he simply could not stop thinking about it.

He had found one strange word — renunciation — and it would not let him go. It is a big word, but it means something simple: giving things up. Letting go of what you are holding tightly. Howard wanted to truly understand it, deep down. What does it really mean to let go?

So one windy spring afternoon he set off. He crossed the whole city of New York, all the way across, to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá his one big question. He held on to it the whole way there, the way you might hold a cup of water when you are very, very thirsty.

'Abdu'l-Bahá agreed to talk with him, and the two of them began walking together toward the house. Now Howard's heart started to sink. Because 'Abdu'l-Bahá was not answering his question. Not at all! He was speaking about the sun, and how it shines down on different parts of the world. The words were beautiful — but they were not the words Howard had walked so far to hear. I came all this way to ask about letting go, he thought, and we are talking about something else.

When they reached the steps of the house, 'Abdu'l-Bahá turned to him. And He said something three times, each time stronger than the last: that this was a day for very great things. Three times! The words rang out like a bell. Something about them swept Howard up and carried him along — so much so that when 'Abdu'l-Bahá walked inside and climbed all the way up to His room, Howard just followed, up the stairs and through the door, without even being asked.

Inside the room it was very quiet.

Then 'Abdu'l-Bahá looked at Howard, and asked him, gently and simply, the very same question Howard had carried across the whole city:

Are you interested in renunciation?

That was all. And right then, Howard understood. The answer had been coming to him the entire time! He had walked across the city clutching his question, fussing and worrying, desperate to get something. And quietly, kindly, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had helped him loosen his grip — to stop clutching so hard, to let his worry go. By the time the question came back to him in that still room, Howard had already begun, without even noticing, to do the very thing he came to learn.

And here is the wonderful part. When he finally let go, he did not lose anything at all. Instead he felt a deep and quiet joy. Sometimes the best lesson is not a long answer. Sometimes it is simply learning to open your hands — and discovering how much lighter and happier you feel when you do.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Are You Interested in Renunciation?".

Ives, H. C.. (1937). *Portals to Freedom*. George Ronald. https://bahai-library.com/ives_portals_freedom