Monday, April 11, 2011

Shake the Dust

Every single one of us is guilty of getting caught up in the same old cycle of non living...of waking up in the mornings and beginning our days with the negative thought that "Today is going to suck". And because our words and thoughts have power, it usually does.

For some, their reality is constant suffering and struggling, and no amount of positive thought is going to change their predicament; the extreme poor, those struggling and continuously losing their battles with addiction, those experiencing loss and disease, to name a few. Everyone has their albatross to wear, and some of them are heavy indeed.

And yet there are others who think suffering is not getting into the passing lane of life; who cut off others to further themselves, never once thinking about what they are missing out on by rush, rush, rushing through life...they think not of those they leave behind, but how much better off they are ahead. Funny how so many with this mindset end up alone and without.

I remember when my son was very  sick and we were spending yet another week at Children's Hospital, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It was a scary time for everyone, especially him. I felt lost and helpless, unable to make him feel better as a mommy should. He kept asking me what was wrong with him, and I couldn't give him the answer to that.

 I wandered through the hospital, praying for guidance  and hope.  Then I passed a child with cancer walking with her parents. Some might have noticed her bald head, or the tubes and wires connecting her to the pole she had to walk with.  What I noticed was the amazing smile on her face, and on the faces of her parents. When she laughed, it was music to my heart, and it gave me courage to walk back to my son's room and sit with him. I may not have had the answers he needed yet,  but I could hold his hand and make him smile, which was enough for that moment.

Wherever you are in life..whether you feel stuck, lost, scared, sad, unloved,  or empty....know that someone else has a bigger burden than you. Do as Anis says in his poem; Open the door to life. Let whatever is meant to happen happen, but don't let the dust settle in your veins. Don't settle for empty when you can be full of love and light. Shake the dust.
Peace to you. ☼

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