“How do we surround that which is dying, with love?” ~
David Whyte
If we are at all sensitized to what is really happening around our
world, we will see that there truly is a new wave of understanding
beginning to crest. This wave is rising to the call of a deeper compassion
than we have ever known before as a species. As this wave lifts us
to a new perspective we are being called to look beyond the trauma
dramas with which the media is pummeling us because it’s simply
evidence that the “old way” of doing things is no longer
working. In short, a large part of our culture and the belief system
that has sustained it for so many years is changing — metaphorically
speaking, it’s preparing to die, and a new culture, “a
new way of being human” is preparing to be birthed. To echo
the words of Lynn Twist, who spoke at the AGNT and IONS conference
in Palm Springs with great elegance and clarity; We must begin to
understand that we are going to have to help hospice an old way of
life that no longer works, and mid-wife a new one that does.
I truly resonated with this statement when I heard it because I can
identify with the metaphor. Hospice workers are among the most compassionate
people on the planet because their sole (soul) job is to assist individuals
through perhaps the most difficult thing anyone of us shall ever do,
and that is to die; they practice the art of deep compassion and loving
kindness, and manage to do so without being swept into the emotions
of it all. In short, their job is to assist those who are making their
transition from one dimension of life to the next, to do so with as
little pain and as much dignity and peace as possible. In many ways
this is what we are being called to do now with our culture. Today’s
quote by David Whyte poses the question so perfectly: How do we surround
that which is dying, with love? In recent days I have heard much anger
and resentment expressed toward those who represent a holding on to
“the old way” of doing things that may not support an
evolving humanity, be they in the corporate world, the political arena
and even in certain religious circles. As spiritually evolving individuals
we know that when someone is dying is not the time to find fault with
him, irrespective of what they stood for, it’s a time to assist
the process with kindness and compassion. Likewise, this is the time
to be mindful that we don’t add to the pain we are all feeling
by over reacting and being uselessly critical of the “old way”
of being human which is dieing. Granted this may be difficult to accomplish
when the old way of doing things is making such a ruckus on the planet,
gasping for its last few breaths. Regardless of the appearance, now
is the time to take a God sized step back and see it all through the
eyes of a compassionate universe. It’s about the evolution of
our species, which includes each of us as well. Let us be sure that
we are ushering in this new way of being human, with reverence and
gentle care for all—even those with whom we don’t agree.
I consider myself to be a mid-wife to this new way of being human
that is in the birth canal right now, how about you? I believe we
are preparing for the birth of a new kind of human, a conscious humanity
that will openly know and celebrate the fact that we are all one in
God, while at the same time honoring our diversity and how we practice
it. Will this all come to pass in our lifetime? Maybe, maybe not;
but the contractions have already started and so we had better be
ready to receive the baby with open arms.
Mindfulness Practice for Today:
* To personalize today’s message, take
a look into your heart and see if there is any toxic emotion residing
there for those who represent “the old way” of doing things
in a manner that seem counter productive to the healthy evolution
of humanity. This can be in your own personal life, or what you see
going on globally.
* First imagine yourself as a Hospice worker, assisting a dieing person.
How would you “be there” for that person? Of course the
answer would be, with compassion and love for the spirit of God within
the one who is transitioning. Can you see yourself in the same capacity
now?
* Secondly, imagine you are in the delivery room, working as a midwife,
assisting in the birth of the most amazingly beautiful baby you have
ever seen. Holding this baby in your arms, looking into its eyes you
realize that you are looking at every human being on the planet. How
does it feel to hold the future of humankind in your arms? The truth
is, you are doing so right now: A new way of “being human”
begins with you and I. It begins with love and compassion for every
being.
* Excerpt from THE
ART OF BEING: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life. Used with
permission from Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones.
