All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.
*Tahereh Mafi. Shatter Me.
* * *
Four years ago, I sitting, his chaplain, beside his bed, sharing with this thin, worn black man. He was about my age in time, much older in body. His lover there too, in the last stage of his life, before death of the body others knew him by. He adored the Tibetan Buddhist mala, or rosary, beads I wore. It was my favorite to wear; in fact, I had given the first away as a gift and bought this one, I liked it so much. He liked it as well. How could I not offer the mala to him?
He was delighted to have it, putting on a big smile and placing it around his neck. He bragged about it to his lover, while he looked her joyfully in the eyes and held beads of the mala in his hands.
She liked the Greek Orthodox prayer rope I had worn into the room along with the mala. I explained what it signified. I offered it to her, seeing she had liked it so much and, also, that I had given him the Tibetan Buddhist mala. She did not want to receive it, for she did not want me to leave without something around my neck, but, said she, she would welcome my bringing some of my Buddhist prayer malas the following week for her to choose one. I was impressed with her thoughtful kindness.
We three talked about meditation and prayer. She likes to kneel in prayer, her beloved said. I told her that after many years of running earlier in life, I had some trouble getting up if I knelt down.
She left the room without saying a word. I wondered why. Shortly, she returned with a walking stick, and she insisted I take it. I did not need it, but I needed to allow her to give it to me. I smiled and took it in hand, expressing gratitude.
After talking with some family members in another room, I began walking out the home, and I heard a voice from the bedroom. The voice joyfully exclaimed, "God bless you!" The voice was that of the patient.
A beautiful sharing, indeed, had occurred. Love had moved among us and had blessed us in our blessing one another. Love is like that, you know. In some sense, the most important, Love is all. Yes, Love is all.
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*The theme of "Lotus of the Heart" is 'Living in Love beyond Beliefs.' This work is presented by Brian K. Wilcox, of Maine, USA. You can order Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, through major online booksellers.
