Every so often something happens which serves as a reminder of how precious our relationships in life are. We know it by common sense, by experience, but we also sometimes forget. This week so much has been spoken or written about regarding the tragedy in Boston and underpinning all these stories are the connections people are making to one another. They are reaching out—runner to runner, stranger to stranger, and friend to friend. And when things pull us apart—pull us from the foundation that makes us stable—is it not a connection back to humanity which makes us whole again?
Some of us are introverts or have professions that lead to more isolation than inclusion. Some days that works out all right. But over the long term our souls cannot be fed off of seclusion. We are, by nature, in need of connection.
For some of us, handling grief and depression causes us to turn inward. For others we may become angry and separated. But to get to the other side, we have to reach out and take hold of the one true thing that makes the difference—that gets us past the hurt, past the anger, past the sadness. We must come together.
Today as you head on your way consider this—take the opportunity to reach out to someone—by letter, by phone, by face. Remind that person they matter to you and in doing so, you too will receive the gift that you matter to someone else. That offering units us and makes us whole. In yoga and in many cultures, the word Namaste is used as a greeting. While similar to our hello, its power has a deeper reverberation. In that small word—in the small act of sharing it—we provide a great connection.
A translation of Namaste
I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of peace
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and
I am in that place in me
Then there is only one of us