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인정

 

나에게는 아직 돌도 안된 향지(香枝)라는 외손녀가 있다. 애는 달에 번씩 할애비를 만나러 오는데 때마다 몸만이 아니라 마음도 놀랍게 자라서 온다.

 

이번에 와서는 아파트 마루방에서 저녁을 둘러앉아 먹는 중인데 에미, 할미 무릎을 옮겨다니며 밥을 떠먹고, 떠먹히던 녀석이 벌떡 일어나 응접탁자로 가더니 거기 놓인 상자에서 휴지 장을 뽑아들고 할애비에게 다가와서는 땀이 나의 콧잔등을 닦아 주는 아닌가!

 

귀동냥에 의하면 사람은 20억년 단세포 생물에서 진화하여 14억년 전쯤에는 어류(魚類) 되는데 그때 벌써 정을 지니게 되고 4 5천만 년쯤에 이르러 수류(獸類) 되어서 정이 새끼들에게 미치고 백만년대에 와서 인류가 되면 비로소 정이 남어나 존재에게까지 미치게 되었다는 이야기다.

 

이렇듯 남이나 존재에게까지 미치는 인정! 바로 그것이 여타동물과 인간을 구별짓는 '바로미터'로서 사랑이니, 자비니, 어짐()이니 하는 성현들의 가르침도 실상 인정을 발휘하라는 말씀외에 별것이 아니다.

 

나는 우리 향지의 티없는 인정에 접하고 벌써 여러날을 감격하고 행복해 있다. 그리고 쓰지 않아서 짐승의 정처럼 무디어진 나의 인정을 부끄러이 여긴다.

Humanity

  I have this little granddaughter, not yet two, Hyang-ji. She comes once a month to pay a visit to her old granddad, and every time she comes I am struck by how much she has grown, not only in body but in heart.
  This time when she came, as we were sitting eating supper around the table in the living room of my flat, my wife and her mother feeding her or she feeding herself as she moved around on their laps, suddenly up the little rascal stood, crossed to the sideboard, pulled a sheet of tissue-paper from the box lying there, toddled across to her granddad, and proceeded to wipe away the drops of sweat that had gathered on my nose!
  From what I have heard, they say that humanity began to evolve two thousand million years ago from single-celled organisms, and we had become fish by about one thousand four hundred million years ago, by which stage affection was already being exercised, then by about four hundred and fifty million years ago we had become animals, with affection being extended to the young of the species, then about one million years ago when humanity appeared, at last affection was extended to other people and even to other kinds of creatures.
  'Humanity': that kind of affection extending both to other people and to other creatures! That is precisely the 'barometer' indicating the difference between people and all the other animals, it is love, mercy, benevolence, so there is nothing special about the teaching of the sages who tell us that we should manifest such 'humanity' concretely.
  Having experienced our Hyang-ji's flawless humanity, I have been deeply moved and happy now for several days. And I feel ashamed of my own humanity, dulled through lack of use, like the affection of the beasts.