"But perhaps there will be nothing we can do. Then we can only be, and be with the person in his or her pain, attending to the quality of our own consciousness." (88) It's probably the hardest piece I've ever had to receive and maybe one of the best. Saving the world isn't about running around like a fiend trying to collect the most money for an organization. It isn't about being seen as the hero saving the day. It's more important to be with someone. To comfort and strengthen them individually. I'm reminded of this past spring when my community sponsored a Relay for Life. The National Honor Society created a team and I volunteered to be captain. I started getting e-mails from the American Cancer Society about all these creative ways to fund raise. Each student was supposed to earn 100 dollars in donations. I balked at the numbers. With 12 students that was $1200! I became a bit obsessed about ways to meet the quota. Should we have a bake sale? A car wash? When did everyone have time in their busy schedules?
http://cdakiwanis.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/kootenai-county-relay-for-life-kick-off-party/
It became another thing on my long list of the "Urgent: You-should-panic-about-this" variety. I lost the meaning of Relay for Life and just focused on the hard numbers. It wasn't until the night of the actual walk that I relaxed and put it into perspective.
I still remember the night. It was humidly warm in the way that you get a chill unless you wear a light jacket. We had been taking shifts to walk the track for quite some time when around midnight, all lights were turned off. The soft glow of the lanterns ringed the ground with ambient light. I was seated in the grass, taking a break, as I listened to the announcer list those diagnosed with cancer and those who had already moved on from this world. At first, I tried to concentrate on each name. Like I was memorizing them for some test. But slowly, the night sky seeped the tension out of me and I let the words become a rhythm. I gazed up at the stars, now so prominent with the stadium lighting turned off. It came to me; that night wasn't about how much you did or didn't raise. It wasn't about whether you knew everyone in your community who was suffering. The true purpose was to find a cause beyond yourself and contribute in a way that was meaningful for both sides of the exchange.
It's difficult to see that we don't always have to the the "hero" to create a positive change in the world. "The most familiar models of who we are-father an daughter, doctor and patient, "helper" and "helped"-often turn out to be major obstacles to the expression of our caring instincts; they limit the full measure of what we have to offer one another." (20) To truly make a difference- both within ourselves and in the word around us- we must find a way to slow down and choose where we can really put our effort. A flurry of movement makes you look busy and important but you're just spinning your wheels. Find how to love, find how to help, and commit fully. And while the entirety of the song isn't exactly accurate for the message I'm getting at, I'd like to use the words of The Eagles:
Take it Easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels
Drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy
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