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Today's
Meditation:
I'm growing older, and I want something to show for
it. For all the years I've spent going through joys
and sorrows, ups and downs, defeats and victories, I want
the world to see that I've come through it all a better
person, that I've grown and developed into someone who
lets the lessons of life reach deep inside of me and turn
me into a wiser, more caring person. What better
indication of having worked hard to improve than having a
large heart?
The world's religious, spiritual, and poetic traditions
have pointed to the heart as the center of our love and
compassion, and modern science is working towards
verifying that focus as being accurate (see the
documentary I Am, for example). If I can work
towards developing a more loving and compassionate heart,
then I can work towards making this world a better place,
tiny bit by tiny bit.
I would like to be an oak tree, giving shelter to
picnickers and people seeking shelter from rainstorms and
intense sun, but I'm a person, not a tree. So to
have a heart that spreads love and compassion as an oak
spreads its leaves to provide protection and shade is the
next best thing, and I know that the only way I can
accomplish this is to work at it. If I want to be as
an oak, then I must constantly make decisions to say
things that are kind and compassionate instead of clever,
to listen instead of speaking when necessary, to provide
people with a safe haven instead of a threatening
presence.
"To make the heart grow larger"-- what a
marvelous concept! The contribution that I can make
to the world with a larger heart will be something much
more expansive than any that I can make without preparing
my heart beforehand, for I do have to get my heart
ready. When an oak gives shelter, it gets rained on
itself. When I provide shelter for someone else, I
need to be ready to deal with problems head-on as I help
someone else work through their problems. But as I
grow older, I see few things more important than helping
other people to make their ways through their lives.
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