On the Way Home from Work


When I was walking to work this morning, I saw this man stretched out on the grass in Stanton Park. It was drizzling, but pleasant. I did not feel any need for an umbrella. The man was definitely breathing, and he had put some cardboard on the ground before lying down. Had it been sunny and had he been lying on a bench or a spread out blanket instead of on wet grass, I would not have wondered at all whether he might need help.
Would he want “help” that would include waking him up? Would it serve to call emergency services when his lying out in the rain did not seem like an immediate matter of life or death, though did raise questions about whether the man was ok? If all calling did was trigger police waking him and telling him to move actually have made things better for him? Because I could not answer these questions and because he had made himself the pallet of cardboard–leading me to think he had chosen the spot rather than fell, I decided to leave him be. I cannot know whether that was the right thing to have done.
This debate in my head did raise questions about the conundrums of offering charity and service and whether and when we can ever serve selflessly, unclouded by our own preconceived notions of what is right and good.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
This morning, without thinking, in apparent keeping with the dark, wet, gray day, I picked out a brown sweater to wear. Then I thought, “what, am I crazy? I could bring color into the day.” Now I am dressed in the colors of the ocean on a bright, sunny day. To add some more light to my day, I started the day with some backbends and arm balances. If I had the luxury of staying inside all day, I perhaps would have done a more inward practice. I have committed to go out, though. To be happy to go out in the rain, I needed to create an abundance of bright, wide awake energy on the inside.

Long-store pantry items