The Magic Notes
Few can hear the magic notes and have danced with joy together.
Many have been drowned by the noise of fame and their desire for material gain.
The universe cries for what could be, the choices that went wrong.
It cries for those who pass this way and didn’t awake to sing their song.
Experiencing Love
I was at a retreat on the California coast in which I experienced an example of a man who acted with love. At the retreat people were considering how to work together to build a happy and healthy world. I was in a discussion group of about 10 people in which there had been a feeling of partnership and joy in our time together until two members of the group started arguing with each other and it changed the tenor of the moment. During the group sessions I’d recognized that one of the participants, Russell Tompkins, was a very wise and loving human being. He did nothing to relieve the stress of the argument. After the meeting I challenged him on why he didn’t intervene and help. He said I didn’t think it was my call. It is so challenging in life to know the moments when it is our call to care and when it is best to let those experiencing disharmony seek ways to resolve it.
I asked Russell Tompkins how he had learned to know when it was his call or not. He shared that he spent many years living in an ashram in India in which he learned how to care. I said to him tell me all you know. He smiled and said I can’t do that, but I can answer your questions. I realized I was not clear on what my questions were. I didn’t see him again until the end of the retreat when he came to me and handed me a piece of paper with a list of resources he thought might help me. He had listened to his inner wisdom and chosen to act and care about me. That moment with Russell Tompkins was over 50 years ago but it remains ingrained in my memory as an experience sharing a moment with someone who had learned how to care and how to love.