Look for the Helpers

Yesterday something terrible happened! People were hurt and some even died. To add to this, the people that were in harm's way were there because they were celebrating an event. They were there to encourage, to help, to cheer on others. In an instant, all that joy turned to sorrow and confusion and devastation, as not one, but two explosions went off at the Finish line of the Boston Marathon, an iconic race, that has been in existence since 1897. As I saw the headline come up in my newsfeed on Facebook, I immediately thought, BOMB. Unfortunately this is the first conclusion we all jump to, someone meant to do this. Someone sat down and calculated fear and causing injury to another human being. I stopped myself, praying that maybe it had been a gas explosion, no less tragic for those lost or injured, but easier to accept the fact that no one was behind something so horrible. But...as news reports started to roll in, my first fear was confirmed. They were bombs. The first question we always have is WHY? We feel confused, hurt. Then it transforms to outrage and anger at the world and the evil in it. I felt all of those things yesterday, and then I read this post by a friend. It was a picture of the beloved children's program host, Fred Rogers, with a quote from him. Here is the quote: "When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that are still so many helpers -  so many caring people in this world."  Evil exists. It always will, but so does good! And that's what we have to hold onto. It is the only thing we can hold onto. Another very wise man said this, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. What happened yesterday was awful! It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, but we cannot dwell on that. Instead we have to focus on healing and helping people cope to somehow move on. Don't give up! Look for the helpers!

Namaste

I have a tradition that I participate in yearly with my girls on the first week of May. We go to "Arts in the Park," a craft and art festival held in Byrd Park next to the Carillon. Vendors have tents and sell their art, pottery, jewelry, furniture, etc, etc., etc. We never miss it! I don't always purchase, and a lot of the items are WAY out of my price range, but I love seeing the explosion of creativity! I usually come away having seen at least one vendor that has something truly unique and wishing I could've afforded to buy one of their items. This year was no different than any other. We made the trek down to Byrd Park. Parked our car quite a walk away and began looking at all the different wares. We have favorite tents that we always look for and new favorites each year. This year, I came away from the Festival with more than merchandise. We saw a tent that was selling decorated, hand painted glass in the form of jewelry. We stopped to look. Words and pictures on little blocks of glass. I showed my youngest daughter one that caught my eye. It was a rectangle with the word "Namaste" I showed it to her because she is fond of saying the word. The vendor asked if we were "yoga" people. I replied that my daughter liked using the word. I knew it was a greeting of some type, I thought, similar to "Aloha", but I thought I would ask the artist what it actually meant. The artist replied, "It means 'the light in you'" As soon as she said that, I was moved. It was one of those feelings you get when you see an old couple walking hand-in-hand or a picture of a small child showing gentle affection to their pet. "The light in you" The light within me acknowledges the light within you. We are all one. We work together for good. Now, before I began to write this post, I looked up the word, Namaste. It literally means, " I bow to you," so before anyone jumps on my lack of knowledge or feels the need to tell me I don't know what I am talking about, I wanted to make that clarification. However, saying and physically manifesting namaste in yoga are connected to the light. From the yoga journal, "The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. "Nama" means bow, "as" means I, and "te" means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means "bow me you" or "I bow to you." I thought about how this world would be different if we all practiced Namaste. Why do we refuse, as fellow human beings, to acknowledge the light within, not just in others, but in ourselves? It's like the song we learned as children says, "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!" If we weren't so afraid to let our light shine, maybe others would be more willing to share theirs with us. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." ~ Matthew 5:14-15 Needless to say, I bought the piece of glass jewelry for my daughter, but I took away something much more than a piece of jewelry, a different perspective on the way I see others. Namaste.