THE LIGHTNESS OF BEING THAT IS BEARABLE
In the beginning the elohim created skies and earth.
Let’s think about those little things that make life bearable.
This morning as I perambulated, I pondered the fact that for the first time in two weeks jaw pain did not wake me up nor did it holler at me as I walked.
The only aches and pains I felt were the chronic ones that come from being in the world. The arthritis whined at me from the middle of my back. A ligament above my left knee cap complained most of the morning. Every now and then, my right shoulder reminded me of an old football injury. That happens when I throw something.
Physical grousing must happen in bodies that carry nerve endings…you know…mortal bodies that get spent, and get aged, and get dead.
This morning, the jaw pain, that particular agony that superseded all chronic ailments, vanished. Rejoice, I will!
It makes us think about the little things that make this life tolerable. Those of us whose neighborhoods are not being shot up or bombed exist in a fairly halcyon state as tranquil as the coo of a mourning dove. We are truly blessed to have blessings to count.
Indeed, we should be thankful. Throughout the history of the world, it would seem that a low percentage of human beings have abided on this planet in ease and peace.
It makes us think about the little things that make this life tolerable. Those of us whose neighborhoods are not being shot up or bombed exist in a fairly halcyon state as tranquil as the coo of a mourning dove. We are truly blessed to have blessings to count.
Indeed, we should be thankful. Throughout the history of the world, it would seem that a low percentage of human beings have abided on this planet in ease and peace.
A very low percentage…
So, the little things that make life tolerable:
Our natural gifts should be counted. I have this astounding ability to be cheerful no matter what. Even when Vesuvius has blown up all around me or the Romans are camped below my Masada, I am able to find a way to proceed tragically yet merrily along. It’s more annoying to others than to me.
Another thing I am really good at is hooking people up. I can go into a room and talk to anybody about anything. I will politely listen if the conversation bores me. Tools, cars, and golf come to mind here.
At the YMCA this morning, a stranger began talking to me. He was short and burley, in his fifties, and he wore glasses.
A conversation about the military came up. He was retired navy. He asked me I had been too. I told him I had never served in the military, but my sister and bio-dad were retired air force. Then I told him about my grandfather who had been with MacArthur after he returned to the Philippines.
Another man nearly as tall as Shaq, ruddy faced and with a full head of gray hair, asked, “Was he at Corregidor?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He was not in the fighting. He arrived there a few weeks before they dropped the bomb.”
“Then he wasn’t at Corregidor.”
I told him about the rumors GIs had heard that Hitler had a weapon that would win the war for Germany, but as it turned out we had the weapon.
The next thing I know the two strangers began talking. Who knows how long they had worked out there and never spoken with one another?
I listened as they talked about how impossible it was to spend their paychecks on weekend leave in Asian countries. As I walked off, I wondered how it might be a marvelous spiritual gift to so easily connect strangers so that they might one day become friends and deepen the joy in their lives.
After all, Joy has ever been one of those little lights that can feel like an infinite sun in a human heart. Life touched by joy is bearable.
Blessings…
Another thing I am really good at is hooking people up. I can go into a room and talk to anybody about anything. I will politely listen if the conversation bores me. Tools, cars, and golf come to mind here.
At the YMCA this morning, a stranger began talking to me. He was short and burley, in his fifties, and he wore glasses.
A conversation about the military came up. He was retired navy. He asked me I had been too. I told him I had never served in the military, but my sister and bio-dad were retired air force. Then I told him about my grandfather who had been with MacArthur after he returned to the Philippines.
Another man nearly as tall as Shaq, ruddy faced and with a full head of gray hair, asked, “Was he at Corregidor?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He was not in the fighting. He arrived there a few weeks before they dropped the bomb.”
“Then he wasn’t at Corregidor.”
I told him about the rumors GIs had heard that Hitler had a weapon that would win the war for Germany, but as it turned out we had the weapon.
The next thing I know the two strangers began talking. Who knows how long they had worked out there and never spoken with one another?
I listened as they talked about how impossible it was to spend their paychecks on weekend leave in Asian countries. As I walked off, I wondered how it might be a marvelous spiritual gift to so easily connect strangers so that they might one day become friends and deepen the joy in their lives.
After all, Joy has ever been one of those little lights that can feel like an infinite sun in a human heart. Life touched by joy is bearable.
Blessings…
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