This past week I stepped through two bright red doors to attend the funeral of someone I had never met. The ritual that is a funeral service varies between cultures, religions and the request of an individual for the way they want to be acknowledged once they have passed from this life to another. More times than not, I have witnessed a celebration of sorts laced between sadness and grief, been comforted by the creative personal touches seamlessly interspersed with the more routine components of the service. From the swell of music filling the air to the small flat communion wafer to the perfumed incense used to anoint the casket, I surrendered all this past Thursday lost in the beauty that is ritual and became more acquainted with a man I would never meet; I do know that he was selfless. Each person who spoke about him said so.
Later that evening as I reflected on this word and the complex simplicity that can be ritual my phone rang. The voice of someone newly met greeted me, asked about my day. Still lost in thought, I was touched by his immediate concern for my well being, words of comfort and sympathy for those he really had no connection to, his selflessness. The next morning, I opened my first email to find that a friend donated money to the Haitian relief effort in my honor, turned on the news to learn that people from all over the world were responding to the devastation in Haiti and thought, “how many instances of putting others first with not much thought to self would be necessary to help this fourth world country of two million?”
There will be no crimson doors for those grieving to pass through to celebrate those who have passed on and for now, no rituals or ceremonies for those who perished as the focus remains on search and rescue and keeping all who survived the earthquake alive. Food and medical care are critical as precious minutes tick by and of course monetary contributions regardless of the amount are welcome. This is a moment when selflessness should trump ignorance and prejudice so open your heart, your mind and…
keep your peepers open! ®
Later that evening as I reflected on this word and the complex simplicity that can be ritual my phone rang. The voice of someone newly met greeted me, asked about my day. Still lost in thought, I was touched by his immediate concern for my well being, words of comfort and sympathy for those he really had no connection to, his selflessness. The next morning, I opened my first email to find that a friend donated money to the Haitian relief effort in my honor, turned on the news to learn that people from all over the world were responding to the devastation in Haiti and thought, “how many instances of putting others first with not much thought to self would be necessary to help this fourth world country of two million?”
There will be no crimson doors for those grieving to pass through to celebrate those who have passed on and for now, no rituals or ceremonies for those who perished as the focus remains on search and rescue and keeping all who survived the earthquake alive. Food and medical care are critical as precious minutes tick by and of course monetary contributions regardless of the amount are welcome. This is a moment when selflessness should trump ignorance and prejudice so open your heart, your mind and…
keep your peepers open! ®
No matter how small the contribution, the difference it makes is immense when it comes from your heart and soul.
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