Whatever Arises, Love That

It has been said that time flies when you are having fun. Delighted by the plentiful waterfowl, sea shells, and sunshine, the time is flying by with many family and friends visiting and enjoying some time here on Pine Island, what I call a zoo without cages.

Great Egret coming to check out what we are cooking on the grill.

A recent kayak outing provided great opportunity for healing when I discovered we were lost out in the mangroves. The GPS showed clearly where we were, but there was absolutely no visible way back to the main canal. My Michigan skin had already met its tolerance for exposure to the hot tropical sun. I was suddenly transported back to the time I was alone in Europe. I had no Euros, and I did not know where I was. I could not find the woman I had been traveling with.

Blue is the water ways we were on.

Sounding much more calm than my insides felt, I said to my companion, “We are lost. I am trying not to panic, but Google Maps cannot show us how to get out.” I handed him my phone.

I knew I did not feel confident to get us out. Everything we could see looked alike. I forced myself to remember that I had survived the Europe experience. I could feel tremendous fear both present and past. 

We had come through an opening in the mangroves where we had to duck down. Had the tide risen sufficiently that we would be unable to get through, or just enough we would not be able to see the opening? 

While I did believe we would survive, I imagined a helicopter having to come get us after days of exposure.

How similar is all of this to the larger schema of what is happening to human beings and planet earth? Have we lost our way and are we panicking because we are afraid of what we might yet encounter? 

This morning, reading the book by Matt Kahn (Whatever Arises, Love That) in which he encourages you to love whatever arises, I am drawn to this sentence: “No matter how closed off you feel or how shut down you seem to be, it is your willingness to love that reminds you how safe you’ve always been.”

I am willing to love. I suspect we all are. We did get out of the mangroves, and we got home in time for lunch! The only visible injuries I encountered were some sunburned knees.

As my knees have recovered, I am deeply appreciating the reality that if we have always been safe, we will always be safe as well.Thanks be to God. Let's all join Matt Kahn for what he calls "A Love Revolution That Begins with You."

Here is my happy face selfie, taken when we were back in the canal!

Disappointment, Frustration, and Fear

A few days ago, we received the sad news that our grandson missed passing his EMT class. He needed an 80, and got 78.3. To miss a really big goal by less than two percent was a huge disappointment. He will need to wait until July to start the class over, and he will have to pay for the class again. In his mind, he has lost both time and money. I understood how disappointed he was feeling about the situation.

The very next day, our daughter—his mom—found out an on-line application she had helped her father-in-love (OK, I just like that much better than father-in-law) send in. They had an email message confirming receipt, and they had the confirmation number, but the employer had no such application in the system. The following day, they were told to apply online again, only to have the very same “candidate” number as the application that was already not showing up in the system. They were understandably frustrated.

I spoke with a woman navigating cancer who was had her scheduled appointment for radiation treatment canceled a second time because of a problem with the machine. Of course, she was feeling disappointment, frustration, and fear. 

As we observe the circumstances each of these individuals are going through—and the emotions generated by the unique conditions—it is rather amazing how visible universal patterns are coming to be. We understand the feelings. How do we find grace and peace in the midst of such times? How do we get over disappointment, frustration, and fear?

We know disappointment, frustration, and fear are worth getting over. The words of Seneca, Roman dramatist, philosopher, and politician (5 BC-65 AD), may be of help to all of us facing life today. “If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.”

Perhaps things are not all that different, after all….

Walking Each Other Home

Ram Dass said, “We're all just walking each other home.” My friend, Pamela Chappell, wrote a song based on the quotation.

 

On my way to the remote Buddhist Sangha for the weekly meditation, my van bottomed out in one of the ginormous mud puddles. Two wheels were up in the air, and water was up to the top of my fender. Two young women in a bright yellow jeep pull up, and one calls to me, “We will be right back and get you out. We have to go get a tow rope!”

 

Too far off the beaten path for satellite to locate me, I was still on the phone with Road Service when the jeep came back.

 

What motivates someone to help a total stranger? 

 

I am not talking about dropping a bill in the bucket as someone is ringing the bell, letting someone pull out in busy traffic, or buying a flock of geese for a family in a village in Africa. These are all worthy acts of kindness, but this was not that—picture throwing off your good shirt, stepping out of your good shoes, wading into foot-and-a-half deep muddy water and getting down on your hands and knees. 

 

“I go to a place near here where jeeps do off-roading in the mud flats. I don’t participate. I have too much money in my jeep for that. But when they get stuck, I pull them out.” Bonnie explained as she drove my vehicle to high ground where I could leave it and go to meditation.

 

“I am sorry we got your van dirty!” she called as they drove off.

 

They were capable—yes—but more than that: they were willing. I would guess you can easily understand why I was touched to tears by the compassionate action of these sisters!

 

Later, sharing my gratitude on a local issue social media site, I spotted a one line message: “Does anyone know a woman named Blah Blah here? I need to get in touch with her.” 

 

I responded. “I know her. She is a colleague/writer friend of mine. I have her cell phone number. Send me a private message and I will let her know to get in touch with you.” 

 

This morning, as I was preparing to participate online in a global meditation and prayer time for peace in the middle east with James Twyman via Dr. Mary Jo Bullbrook, my phone rang. It was my writer friend.

 

“Thank you! I don’t do much on Facebook. I don’t even have internet here. That woman’s husband had found my credit card. I did not even know I had lost it. I had left it at the ATM.”

 

The signature line on my email is by Mother Teresa: "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

 

Tens of thousands were joined in a vision of peace. I kept hearing Pamela singing, “We're all just walking each other home.” Maybe I need to change my signature line.