Three Stories

Up until last week, I had been experiencing a pretty dry period as far as writable stories generated during our Women in Black vigil. But boy, the last couple of weeks have been fertile!

Here are three stories from today:

This happens all of the time, but I realized today just how precarious our situation can be. A "driver" who was talking on his cellphone with one hand gave us the peace sign with his other hand while his car, which obviously had no one holding the wheel, sped past. In my mind I could see the headlines:

Women Mowed Down by Driver Giving the Peace Sign.

And I thought: That wouldn't be the worst way to go.

Killed by Peace.

A short time later, a man driving a truck was stopped in front of us waiting for a green light when he yelled out, "End Obama's War!" Well, yeah, since the Decider no longer holds office, this is now Obama's war and yeah, he's escalated it and now more people are getting killed there than any time since it began, and... what's your point about pointing out the owner of the war? In fact, I pay my taxes, so it's MY war, too!

I might want to think about that "pay my taxes" point...

The last story. I saw a white SUV full of guys sitting at the light coming out of the mall. They were yelling loudly, but I was happy that I was far enough away from them that I couldn't hear what they were saying. I guess they needed us to hear them, though, because they drove around until they could come right past us and then they yelled hate-filled things about us and about people in other countries.

Before that, I had been in a place of completely experiencing all people, cars, buildings, birds, streets, EVERYTHING as God. As one-ness. And then these men who appeared to be very angry drove by. And you know what??? I heard Mother Teresa's voice in my head as she talked about "Christ in his Distressing Disguise". These guys were the Christ in his Distressing Disguise. I felt only compassion for them. Not the kind of "compassion" that says, "Oh, you poor, angry, misguided men. I'm so sorry." No, the kind of compassion that doesn't get its buttons pushed, but just sees it all as okay. They were expressing something from within them.

And I realized, once again, that it's all about me. The people around do their act. That's the show and I can't do anything about it. But will my heart stay open, no matter the content of the show? No matter the actions that may seem necessary? Or will my heart close in fear, anger, intimidation, or needing to be right, thus adding to the anger and confusion?

Equanimity.



“If there is love, there is hope to have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your mind is lost, if you continue to see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education you have, no matter how much material progress is made, only suffering and confusion will ensue.” - Dalai Lama