The recent shooting in south Boulder has shaken us, but can you feel the love and tenderness it has brought forth? Can you feel the emanation of kindness and courtesy coming from those around you? If you’ve ventured out for an errand, you probably noticed it. The things that seemed so important previously no longer have the urgency. What has risen to the surface is what’s most important–the care and compassion we have for ourselves and one another. It’s palpable, and it will wane with time, but with a little willingness, we can keep it going. Feel the love, be the light.
The trauma has touched a chord in us all, which means it must be a chord we all know, soundless and loving.
It’s partly a reminder of the fragility of bodies and the temporal nature of life on earth. But perhaps it’s a reminder of a higher reality we share in Spirit. What if the world was inherently incomplete, upside down, and inside out? What if it were through shaken, tender moments like this, we get to see a part of ourselves that is loving, whole, and “right side up?” What if what lasts and what brings peace and wholeness resided only within? Would that not explain the gentle and supportive feelings we are having for each other?
Could it not be a way to learn to let love come through?
If you read the write-up in the Daily Camera about the 10 who lost their lives, you probably noticed the descriptive words they had in common? They were all bright, light, giving, happy and loving! Were they perfect in every way? No. None of us are. But if we can begin to see past our differences and our prejudices, we will soon see the undifferentiated love we have in common. And if we can see it in another, we can experience it in ourselves. This is the deeper meaning behind the word namaste. More than a salutation, namaste is a practice that brings us closer to the eternal love and light we share.
Let’s learn from events like this, big or small, and start to look with love to see it. Instead of demanding the change happen “out there,” I realize that I can be the change (Gandhi)—that I may see out from a place of peace and love to know it. If any of the 10 has a message for us now, might this not be what they would say? Go ahead, be the light of the world. I’m reminded of the transformative scene in Lion King when Simba lost his way after falsely blaming himself for his father’s death, the clouds parted, and the sun came out as the image of his father saying, (with the booming voice of James Earl Jones) “Simba! Remember Who you are!”
It is often hardship or darkness that brings out the light.
And once I get a glimmer of light, it’s my greatest responsibility to grow it by giving it away, not just for myself but for the good of all. It’s the only fundamental law of attraction, that which we give (in mind), grows. How do we know that’s not what these precious 10 were doing for us? Let’s let them show us the way.
They were beacons of light before, the same as we are now. Let’s remember Who we are. Namaste.
