“You must be a lotus, unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!” ~ Sai Baba.

By courtesy of being connected once more to the world wide web and one of its search engines, I learned something new this week.  As we approached the full moon, (the Pink Moon – the first full moon after the Spring Equinox and the determinant of when Easter is celebrated each year, but that’s a topic for another Friday morning) I began to wonder why we only see one face of the moon.  Doesn’t the moon rotate on its axis? Why then do we not sometimes see the other side?

Perhaps I had already been taught this and forgotten it, or perhaps it was just one of those questions that are for the idle, for trivia games, not really crucial for day-to-day life.  But I was informed by my faceless, soulless AI educator that it is the earth and its tidal pull that has synced the rotation of the moon on its axis (which takes 27.3 days) so that one side of the moon is always facing the earth, even as it rotates (slowly) and orbits the earth.

If you already knew that, I apologize, but for me it was an ‘Ohhhh!’ moment – so yes, there is a dark side of the moon, and we can’t see it from earth! It was also perhaps my recent cruise on the wide ocean that led my thoughts to the pull of tides, the sway of oceans, the persistent movement of waves of energy through the surrounding sea as the skyscraper I was residing on moved through the water as smoothly as a knife through warm butter.

It was my first voyage (on a much more modest vessel, in a much simpler time) that first had me staring at the sky at night, in the middle of the ocean.  My father had woken me and my brother up (after we had gone to bed – that was unusual!) to take us up on deck to stare at an inky sky (reflected in an equally navy-blue sea) which was absolutely awash in stars, with a clearly defined milky way.  In my present light-polluted life, I can’t remember when last I have seen such a sky.  But to a young city dweller (at the time) it was completely awe-making.  He could point out the common star groups, I could recognize Orion’s belt, I could see the Plough (aka the Big Dipper), Wow!

The 24^th Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limón, has written about the practice of ‘startlement’, a way of paying attention with curiosity, which enables you to see your connection to the world in a different way.  In one of her poems she writes of ‘a forgotten pleasure’, to see things anew, as if for the first time.  If you have ever been around young children as they explore the world, or make discoveries, or do something by themselves successfully, for the first time, you can recall that exact feeling.  It is something we have lost in our jaded, cynical view of life and the world.  Even the prophet told us that there is nothing new under the sun.  And yet we can choose to be thrilled again, to appreciate as if for the first time, things around us.

We are bombarded with so much negativity that we have to intentionally pay attention to the good that still exists and can be seen in simple human acts of kindness which take place every day.  In fact we can be the perpetrators of such acts, especially when it is done with no hope of being caught on camera, or publicized in some other modern way.  In one of the recent acts of unified, non-violent protest that took place last Saturday, a woman who found herself persona non grata in her own country (at the time of the Vietnam war for opposing it) spoke of radical kindness.  That phrase is powerful, yet what does it mean?  Again my search engine tried to help me out – suggesting it is the opposite of violence; it is seeing the world as what it can be, not as what it is; it is acting intentionally, coming together to bring justice to the world; being kind even when it is uncomfortable. 

I have sometimes wondered whether I am truly using all of my talents.  The parable of the talents comes to mind.  What if there is something I am supposed to be doing that could make a difference in this world?  Am I fulfilling my potential to be all that I can be?  But of course these questions can paralyze you, if you let them.  As I prepared for this morning’s message I dreamed a dream (you may say I’m a dreamer!).  I was in a room with a group of like-minded people, engaged in a ritual, a healing ritual.  We were sharing, passing around, an imaginary beach-ball of energy.  Everyone was standing up hoping that the energy-ball would be thrown to them (hands in the air, thinking ‘me, me, I’m over here!’).  I suddenly realized that I didn’t have to wait, I could call the energy to me, I could pull it to me, and then send it out to the world.

In my work with energy medicine (feels like it was in a prior life), one of our activities was for the group of us to visualize such a healing ball of energy, a blue light which could carry healing around the world.  If ever there was a time for such rituals, such united, intentional effort, it is now.  We are experiencing a particularly toxic form of energy being paraded and dropped in lethal waves, using the power of military might to supersede right, to eliminate justice, to ignore the well-being of our fellow man.  Perhaps it is time for us to call on the feminine energy to regain control of the planet, as the current form of problem-solving brings only death and destruction.

It was evident at last week’s rallies and protests that millions of people around the world are ready for change, and this is powerful.  There are many organizations who are working for this.  One such group, The Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, brings together global leaders who are “…an independent group of global leaders working for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet.” Align yourself with such groups; become active in your community; set your intention to be a powerful force of positive energy and radical kindness in your family, and let’s see just what we are capable of.

On this Friday morning as many around the world are reflecting on their religious traditions, I hope you can participate in new rituals, ones which change the way we see how we relate to this world, and to each other.  When you receive that ball of energy, be sure to pass it on.  And if you see someone struggling along the way, help them up.  As Ram Dass said, ‘we are all just walking each other home’. 

Have a great weekend, Family! May you be startled anew and may you engage in radical kindness!

One Love!

Namaste.