*read the full edition here
You know those fellas who clean windscreens for change at traffic lights? We call them the 'squeejee guys'. They're uniform in appearance: skinny, old clothes, drawn and weathered faces. And in Canberra they are very polite.
A few days ago I was at the lights and waved the Squeejee Guy away with a 'no' and a smile. He indicated he would do it for free anyway. He said, "This one I do for love. Sometimes it just feels good." I asked him his name and he said, "Chris."
Thank you Chris. This was my moment of 'satori', a Japanese word meaning instant awakening. Here was Chris, a guy wrestling his own demons, out on the streets scrounging for a few coins, and yet he had a gift for me, someone who was likely ten times better off than him. Even with nothing, he still had love to give, and did so, because it felt good.
So I send this newsletter with plenty of love, and hope that you might find 'satori' in it too.
Zoë
p.s. If you enjoy Compass Bearings, spread the good vibe by forwarding it to a friend.
Is this your satori?
It was a bad week for the news.
Abused children, poverty, war, death, destruction, chaos, hatred, walls to ‘protect’ and divide. There is so much misery in the world. Today these images came from Iraq: a car burned and crumpled, a skeleton of an abandoned child scattered in the gutter, and rubble piled against buildings with bodies strewn in the street.
My day: quiet. The rain is falling on thirsty, thankful soil. A fire warming the hearth. I am well-fed, warm, and safe.
The contrast of these two realities wrings my soul. Guilt? Shame? Helplessness. I feel forlorn and empty handed in the face of such misery and desperation. Suddenly thoughts of a new shower curtain and grumbles over delayed renovations seem paltry and pathetic.
What can I do? I am not a doctor; I cannot tend the sick and injured. I am not a politician; I cannot amend legislation. I am not a soldier; I cannot defend the peace. I am not a rock star; I cannot conjure a fundraising concert. I am not a millionaire; I cannot donate a mass of funds. I am not a builder; I cannot repair the crumbling walls.
Yet I am one. My neighbour is one. My colleague is one. There are millions of us around the world who feel powerless in the face of such atrocities. Some are compelled to muck in, boots and all, in the awful quagmire. They stem the bleeding. The rest of us shelter in our lovely homes, and tremble, overwhelmed at the scale of the problem and our tininess in face of it all. It is far easier to turn attention to more mundane, safer things. Like baking brownies and a new pair of shoes.
Yet I am One. I have a heart, a mind, a soul, and love to give. I am a writer. Words flow from me. They move my soul to connect with others. If I want peace, I need to be peace and let peace flow. If I want to affect change, I need to be the change I wish to see in the world. So said Ghandi. With my words, I send peace, love, compassion, understanding, faith, courage. Inspiration. Action.
I am no stranger to death. With cancer, a touch of death like a film of dust lay across me. Stifling. Yet all around me was the burgeoning song of life. The wilful flow of life and growth. There is no stop and start to it all – it is one beginning flowing into another. The leaf falls from the tree, transforms in to earth, and a plant rises, flowers, returns to the earth. A shedding and surging in perpetuity.
So this is my pledge: I turn my words and my creative energy in to a force for inspiration to lift the spirits and souls of our neighbours who languish in strife and pain. Let’s lift them from the misery, roll them from despair through to the growth of a new life. The surge of life is within them. Let’s help them reclaim peace in their hearts and souls. Find tranquillity and sanctuary no matter the external circumstances. A focus on peace. A focus on love. A focus on compassion.
If you have nothing and find the courage to love, if you have nothing and find the courage to understand, if you have nothing and have the presence of soul to share – a laugh, a smile, a hug, a gesture of humanity, then this is where new life, new hope, new peace can take root. It starts with one person and spreads. Like dropping a pebble in a pond, the waves reach distance shores.
We who have so much can share much of ourselves. This is not about feeling guilty for wealth and riches. This is about sharing your human soul and reaching out to another. We don’t need to travel to the Middle East to express love and compassion for another human being. Our neighbours are crying silently in loneliness, leading lives of quiet desperation: the refugee who cowers in terror at the sound of planes, the young child who clambers in dust and knows nothing of work, of progress, of safety, of love. The elderly gentleman who dreams of a family through the fog of memory. A warm hand to hold is a gift beyond measure.
How will you share yourself? A smile at a stranger? A thank you to a helpful clerk? A few dollars left in the guitar case of the street performer? A note to an old friend?
Unlock the wealth inside you and let it shine. The world needs you.
Zoë
P.S. [FIRSTNAME], I am compiling inspirational stories, articles, essays, and photos to spread a message of peace and love. If you would like to contribute or be part of the project, please email me or lend me a hand by completing the following brief survey. There is gift for everyone who does
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=diH1GUdMrUP09dgVsnvufg_3d_3d
P.P.S. If you would like to take action in promoting peace through meditation, visit the website http://www.createpermanentpeace.com
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