If we can work our way into the spaces between, then in not too long a time, the grid (that holds us apart, separate, and lonely) is bound to dissolve.
The video below offers the kinds of stories that we need to remember from our own lives and to tell each other, often. They happen every day. We’ve learned to call them “random acts of kindness,” a moniker that contains its own ironic tag: “random.” As if it couldn’t be intentional. It must be just chance.
It’s rare that we actually pay attention these sudden, often subtle but powerful connections beyond the momentary flush of joy that attends our perception that indeed, something wondrous just happened between me and a stranger!
For me, ever since, back in my 20s, when I was walking with two small children in a stroller, the sudden, startled smile that greeted my own reassuring smile to an old woman who was afraid I’d run her over as we passed by, has stood as a halcyon reminder of the miracle that is our life on earth. These momentary greetings have evolved into my principle spiritual practice, one that attends my three-to-four mile walk with puppy Shadow each morning. Of course, with a puppy, it’s much easier, since no matter how preoccupied people are who pass me, IF they can pull themselves away from their iPods or iPhones long enough, they too, will smile, glance, warmly. Our hearts heat up together in a momentary flash of the Love that powers the universe.
