Life's Fundamentals

Few things bring life's fundamentals into perspective the way a serious illness can.  Suddenly, life and death come roaring into consciousness from their relegated corner amidst the routines and tasks of daily living.  Such an event not only impacts the person with the illness, but the entire family and community of friends. 

Mortality's presence sounds its bell, and the tone we hear can have a profound impact on how we choose to respond.  Do we hear a death knell, or the infinite chimes of what is possible?  Choosing possibility in the face of such an event does not equate to being a Pollyanna.  The reality of what one faces is sobering.

Yet the perspective we choose, and the intentions we employ, can assist us in navigating such treachourous terrain.  Holding the tension of the opposites of life and death allows us to connect to the core reality that is often obscured in our everyday distractions - the reality of love.  It is through love that you can activate the will to heal in another person. When we want someone to stay with us in life, this has a profound healing effect on the soul as well as the body.

Quantitative research has demonstrated the power of prayer in response to illness or trauma.  Those who have utilized prayer personally, or who have had others pray or meditate for them, have healed in ways that others have not.  When love forms concrete actions in the world, those beads of positive response can create a healing field that surrounds all dealing with a profound health challenge.

When life's events bring us to our knees, it may be an instinctive sign to stay there, in humility, and allow something beyond ourselves to move us into new life.

Sacred Witness

I can barely look at the wrenching images of the birds affected by the oil spill off the Gulf, but I don't feel it is acceptable to not bear witness to their suffering.  In the pictures, the birds seem to be meeting our gaze - looking us directly in the eye and beseeching us to see what we've done. When I spoke with indigenous elder Diane Longboat about the Gulf tragedy, she helped me to see that their suffering must be redeemed by acknowledging and understanding that they are messengers of a new way we must live on this planet.  To not recognize, and honour, their sacrifice, we deny their integrity in the web of life and continue to threaten our survival on this planet.

The images of the birds are stark reminders of our abuse and our unconsciousness of our interconnectedness.  As a species, we have hurt our relations by not honouring the sacredness of their lives.  It is only when images such as the photographs of these noble creatures comes to consciousness that we are forced to truly see the impact of what we have done.  Our witnessing then becomes the catalyst for deep change, allowing us to forgive ourselves and ask forgiveness for, our reckless pursuit of more.

From this sobered and humbled place, we open ourselves to co-creating a different world.