Random acts of kindness
I go to a garden nearby for my daily walks. I love nature and for my own peace, I usually sit down on a bench in the park and be with tree people, plant people, rock people, mother earth, water spirits and wind spirits. (In shamanism, we address all of nature also as people giving them equal importance as humans).
I love to just BE and sometimes I do my shamanic practices sitting there on the bench. Sometimes I just be with all aspects and observe and try and breathe and be fully present.
Today the park didn’t have an empty bench and I asked a young woman sitting on a bench if she could allow me to share the space.
She graciously agreed and moved so that I could sit.
She was a regular visitor in the park and I often saw her walking bare foot, talking to someone on the phone all the time. She would give me a feeling that she was a corporate employee.
Today, I sat next to her and just happened to strike a conversation. I inquired what she does and about routine, etc. One thing led to another and our conversations deepened.
And although she didnt realise this consciously, she indeed was on an inner quest and was constantly questioning who the woman in her really was.
She was unhappy with just being a mother, a daughter, a wife or a daughter-in-law.
She didn’t phrase it exactly like this but her conversation made me feel that she was definitely on an inner quest. Coming from a typical conservative Marwadi family and a typical patriarchal set up, she was stifled and seeking not just freedom but expression of her gifts.
She had taken steps to take a stand for herself at home and moved out. Her parents got her married at a tender age of 21 and she could not pursue her studies and creativity. Her in-laws didn’t ALLOW her to continue and pursue her interests. Soon she became a mother and in the process LOST who she really was, what her own desires were and what she wanted to do.
Our conversation of just 30 minutes opened up so many tender spaces within her heart. I helped her realise the true courage of Durga that she already WAS and she indeed had taken a stand in front of her in-laws to study. She pursued psychology, graphic designing and was now studying different mediums of art.
Yet there was a chaos inside her and she was churning with regards to her identity.
We had many conversations which bordered in simple terms around the feminine and power of women, prakriti and shakti.
She wanted to express what she was learning but was afraid to take a stand. A peak into her soul brought up so many facets within her.
I saw that she was journaling and believed in the power of affirmations. I suggested that she could journal her fears and create affirmations around what she sought (like her freedom, or the search of who the woman in her really was) and although she felt scared, I reminded her that she was indeed courageous.
I told her that her inner quest had begun and even though she felt she didn’t know what to do and how to do, she would soon figure it out.
The conversation had obviously struck a chord in her heart and body and she started weeping. I got up, held her, gave her a hug and gently whispered, “You are not alone.” She cried some more. I told her she could reach out and talk to me anytime. We exchanged numbers, hugged some more and I departed for home.
I received a message from her within a few hours in which she said, “Thank you so much for saving me from drowning. I will never forget this.”
My heart is full.
It reminds me of my own mantra when I say, we make the best contribution just by BEING who we really truly ARE.
No additional effort or rocket science needed.
I could not do my daily activities that I usually do in the garden (breathing, chanting, connection to my guides and my body) but my heart is still full.
Just the gift of seeing the GIFT OF OTHERS, makes me feel blessed and heartful.
At least today, I lived a day where just by being me, contributed to someone’s soul journey so deeply.
I am grateful.