Different Ways #15 Chapter 13, It's a Beautiful Day, Part Two
The human heart strong yet tender; a human life, a daring venture.
This particular excerpt makes me want to emphasize just how important it is to be kind. The scope of each kindness in my life is awe inspiring. At least it is to me upon reflection. There have been some times in my life where force could not be avoided. I know this and I sense why it had to be that way. But when people withheld judgement upon me and allowed me some respect even when I dd not deserve it (perhaps especially when I did not deserve it) something powerful transpired in the climate of those moments; something healing happened. I yearn to react in such a way as to stop the momentum of what is diseased in some way and - not to heal it but - allow a person to want health for themselves. I yearn for that kind of strength of character to know when I'm the one to step up and be kind when it is necessary to provide that opportunity.
Anyone experiencing a life changing event is going to act peculiar. We can all go a long way to back-off the psychological assumptions and shift our perspective to compassionate inquiry. It is no different than assuming that the child screaming in the store or on the airplane is poorly parented when in reality the child is disabled and struggling in some way. Stepping back from these assumptions allows us room to help, if possible. We run to judging people to hide. Fear is a dodge; it disables our compassion. It does not allow it.
There is no way we can stop and control a person's life agenda. Even when it is pitching towards an end in what we perceive as unfortunate. We can, however, stay true to ourselves and choose kindness when possible. With practice - and it does take a kind of paying attention to our presence - we can do that.
Thank you for listening.
Different ways, Chapter 13 pp 92-96
Music: I am enthralled by Rufus Wainwright's rendition of this song and the symbolism of the video. It resonates deeply for me. It seems pretty self explanatory regarding, spiritualism, desire, art, father figures, and men in general. I see this, too, however...I have come to absolutely cherish my inner child and her rapscallion ways, her charm, and her precociousness. She is willing to dream and chance letting go of her precious possession to discover what happens like the child in this video. She is brave yet tender. I look at my younger life from the bright side of abandon. I had the room to adventure and discover and I wasted no time doing just that. I believe it was supposed to be that way for me. It still is... and, though I'm near 70, she is still within me.
Thank you for joining me here. The memoir Different Ways: Revealing the Feminine can be purchased through my website using a link to Village Books at AlltheDifferentWays.com. There will soon be an eBook version available with an independent retailer.
The BlogCast that outlines my intentions for this series of readings from my book, Different Ways, Revealing the Feminine can be found here in the post, Between the Lines.