I believe that if empathy and taking responsibility for our thoughts/actions could reign then just maybe the belief that we are spiritual beings in a human body would reign. I like to imagine energetic cords tethering everything together as one huge organism: cosmos, earth, sky, sea, every plant, rock, human, every insect and creature large to small all cast in a web of bouncing energetic frequencies of love and light. It seems that I can forget this so easily though when listening to news of a horrific tragedy committed by a human or haphazardly watching a reality show or even when a driver cuts me off on the road. It seems easier to come from an opposing stance rather than a place of love. But if I can catch myself and be at the center love and forgiveness, life just seems to flow more freely.
As I drive to work in the morning 5 days a week, I see the same homeless man walking on a long stretch of road. I wonder where he sleeps in the summer, winter, spring and fall. He has been wearing the same tattered clothes for the past two years, only his plastic bag changes. I do not know his name only that he has made a lasting imprint on my heart. I see suffering in his eyes. It is spring right now and I wonder if he notices the birds gathering sticks to build their nests or the tiny sprigs of life springing from the bare branches of trees or the ladybugs taking flight. What was his life before and how did it become what it is? I hear over and over what I have heard since I was young: What did he do to get there? He obviously chooses to be homeless. Don’t give him money or he may buy alcohol or drugs. Why do I so easily condemn him, withhold my money, turn my empathy off? Look past him as if he does not exist? If money is given with the intent of love and an energetic cord connects us then what does it matter what he does with the money? The responsibility is now his. A flow of pure energy existed for that moment. I do finally stop one day to look him in the eye and tell him I see you, you are not invisible, to lend a helping hand. He will not tell me his name but I send him love quietly and that got me thinking, what if I could tear my ears and eyes away from our fear based society, the need to acquire more, more, more, the desensitization that seems to permeate our culture. What if I consciously make an effort to be in the moment more? To hear the pure glee of a child’s giggle, to feel the ground beneath me, to smell the dirt, flowers, spring rain. What if I aspire to experience the human experience with my fellow human travelers at this particular moment in history with more empathy? Maybe I, we, humanity might rise to the occasion and meet God (whatever God is) right here right now….This I do believe
Namasté