I Understand…

I recently had some very moving experiences which I feel to share.

I was returning from a trip to Florida where I visited my brother and his family and the trip was experiential beyond my expectations on many levels.  It left me with many realizations and shifted belief system views which have changed me in very positive ways.

I travelled with my mother and my 6 year old daughter who are both my steady rocks in times of turbulence and change.  The wisdom of my mother guides me in so many ways and the pure truth that comes from my daughter brings clarity beyond her years.  Although I am my daughters guide and her mother, I trust her views and ask her opinion often.  She gives me incredible insight from her child’s mind which see’s with purity and clear vision.

When we were crossing over between the east and west coasts we had to transfer planes in Dallas Texas, the Hub airport of DFW – Dallas Fort Worth Airport.  The terminal is really something spectacular.  One takes a tram around a large figure eight to get to different terminals and each terminal is laden with shops, restaurants and extreme architecture that one feel as though one is in a spaceship or transport machine from out of this world. 

My mother was using the restroom and Thea, my daughter, and I were filling up my water bottle at the water fountain outside the restrooms.  An elderly woman walked up and didn’t know where the button was to push to make the water come out.  I showed her without words, and she smiled at me in gratitude.  As she lifted her tiny little water bottle up to the spigot, it was then I noticed that she was shaking.  Her Parkinson ’s disease made it so it was very difficult for her to steady the bottle for the water to make it in the opening.  I offered her help and she declined.  She kept trying to do it herself, but her hand was shaking so badly that only small bits of water were getting in.  I offered again and said “It’s OK, I can help you.”  She let me help her and said to stop before the ¾ mark because she didn’t want that much.  I stopped when she told me to and I gave her back her little bottle.  She thanked me as she twisted the lid on to the bottle.  I replied “You are welcome. It’s ok, I understand.”  We nodded at each other and I saw light in her eyes.  We made a connection.  She slowly walked away.

My mother came out of the restroom and we went to eat some lunch.  While we were waiting for our lunch, I asked to look at the tickets and saw we they were boarding the plane then so we got the food to go and quickly made our way to the plane.

My mother boarded first as she was in the first wave called.  Thea and I were in the last wave.  We were seated separately from my mother in this last leg to SFO from DFW.  I wondered if there was going to be a way to switch with someone so we could sit together. 

As we entered the plane, after the tunnel walk toward the door, we made our way down the aisle, looking at the numbers on the overhead bins for our seat.  An extremely large man was seated in the aisle seat next to our seats.  My mother was one row forward from there in a center seat to the left of us.  To her left was a woman and to her right on the aisle was a very tall man with long legs. 

After we settled in and got all of our things situated, I gently asked the man if he would be open to moving so that we could sit together with my mom.  He said that he could not sit in a center or window seat – it would have to be an aisle.  I realized that it would be too much to ask the tall man to not have an aisle.

I replied to the man next to me: “It’s OK, I understand…”  I could tell when I walked up initially that he felt so uncomfortable in his large body crammed into the airplane seat.  His belly was overflowing out the side, over the arm rests and his chest was pushed up into his chin so he looked like an overstuffed bag.  It looked painful. 

I sat next to him and put Thea at the window. 

After the plane was in the air and leveled off nicely, Thea asked to use the restroom.  When we returned I raised the arm rest between him and me and asked him if this was OK and he said “Yes”. 

When the movie came on, I moved Thea to the center seat so she could see the screen better.  I could see him relax as Thea sat there taking up barely any room at all in her little skinny 6 year old body.  After the film, she moved back to the window to sleep on my lap before we landed.  It was late and the jet lag was upon us.

These two stories highlighted for me an important message.  Everyone is struggling with something; seen or unseen.  Some people have insecurities they hide behind a fake smile.  Some peoples struggle is more visible.  If we garnish a more UNDERSTANDING attitude bringing in compassion for others regardless of their plight, we would live in a much more peaceful world; a world where everyone felt UNDERSTOOD and HONORED in the moment, whatever stage of their story that they were experiencing.

In doing this for others, the broken and unattended to places within us would get recognition and heal too, because if we are all connected and ONE, then surely these things would affect the collective in some healing fashion.

To become mindful and practice compassion in our daily lives, not just with strangers, but with our families; the ones we are used to, the ones we take for granted that they will be there and love us anyway, is the test.  To transfer the talk to the walk and into the daily routine is the real test.

If we can become so mindful and in the moment that we can actually transfer this medium of energy to our daily lives, knowing that in doing so it would bring us and others a deep needed peace, acceptance and acknowledgement.  Now there’s the *Gift*…  The *Gift* that touches all of us… our Hearts, our Souls, our Minds… with deep Loving Acceptance, that how we are, who we are… is OK. Self-compassion, expressed compassion ~ the same.

I understand...

~*~