The Sandbox and the Cosmos: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and the Universal Christ
At first glance, Robert Fulghum’s “Kindergarten Rules” and Richard Rohr’s “Universal Christ“ seem worlds apart—one belongs in a colorful classroom, the other in a deep theological library. But if we look closer, we find they are describing the exact same reality. To “be aware of wonder” in a Styrofoam cup is the beginning of recognizing that all of matter is “Christ-soaked.”
The Theology of the “Mess”
Fulghum’s fifth rule, “Clean up your own mess,”—is often the hardest for adults to follow. In a “Christ-soaked” world, we realize that our “messes” are never just ours; they affect the whole body of creation. Whether it is environmental destruction or a harsh word spoken in anger, the Universal Christ reminds us that we are all connected. To clean up our mess is an act of reconciliation, a way of restoring the divine pattern that was there from the beginning.
The Sacramental Cookie
When Fulghum notes that “warm cookies and cold milk are good for you,” he is touching on the heart of the Incarnation. We often try to find God in abstract ideas or distant heavens, but the Christ is found in the physical. A cookie is not just sugar and flour; it is a manifestation of the Earth’s goodness, a small “sacrament” of comfort. If we can see the holiness in a snack, we are well on our way to seeing the Christ in a sunset, a glass of wine, or a stranger’s smile.
The Paschal Mystery of the Goldfish
Rule fifteen is the most sobering: “Goldfish and hamsters... they all die. So do we.” This is the “Pattern of the Cross” written into the very fabric of nature. Everything that is born will eventually fall away. But in the lens of the Universal Christ, death is never the final word. Just as the “roots go down and the plant goes up,” the divine DNA ensures that life is constantly being transformed, not ended. We see this in the changing seasons and in the way the love we have for our pets, they continues to shape us long after they are gone.
The Final Commandment: LOOK
Fulghum ends with the word “LOOK.” This is the ultimate call to contemplation. Most of the world’s confusion regarding Jesus and the Christ comes from a failure to truly look. We look at the “finger” (the historical Jesus) instead of the “moon” (the Universal Christ) he is pointing toward.
To “Look” is to move past our labels of “secular” and “sacred.” It is to realize that the traffic we watch out for, the hands we hold, and the nap we take are all part of a single, holy, “Christ-soaked” journey.
A Checklist for the “Second Half of Life”
If you are trying to live out this Universal Christology in your daily life, you might use these Kindergarten rules as your guide:
Practice Presence: “Wash your hands” and “Flush “let go of the past so you can be fully here.
Practice Wonder: Look at the “seeds” in your life and admit you don’t know how or why they grow.
Practice Connection: “Hold hands and stick together.” No one goes to God alone, and we need to walk each other home,
If you have forgotten
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don’t hit people.
4. Put things back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
7. Say you’re SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some, draw some and paint some, and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down, and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”
To Close, “Which of the ‘Kindergarten Rules’ do you find the hardest to follow as an adult? For me, it’s often ‘Cleaning up my own mess’s—especially the internal ones. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.”