It's under your nose
My beloved teacher Master Zhi Gang Sha tells us, "The purpose of life is to serve, to help others be happier and healthier." Sometimes we ask ourselves, how can I serve? And feel stuck in notions of what service is.
Suffering is right under your nose. I am not saying fixate on suffering, but we must be more aware as the world shifts around us. It does not require one treasure or special blessing to be kind.
We walk through life looking at the outer, the dazzling smile, the blank face of a child, the silent husband, the uncomplaining animals in our life. There is often real suffering and pain right under that surface. Sometimes our consciousness is set up to not register that suffering, it's too painful to contemplate.
It is an act of courage to see through, to really perceive what is happening with another person or creature or the Mother Earth herself. My family came very close to losing a member because this young one was so good at hiding the agony within, the perception of her mother and a great psychiatrist saved her life.
Do you see an animal killed or hurt on the highway and say a little prayer? Think further that there may be a den of babies somewhere that will die without that mother. Do you see a four year old with out of control tantrums and shake your head? Think further that this one may have pain in his life that is unbearable, or even karmic implications from a previous life that are causing great suffering. Much of the animal kingdom experience Earth as one big concentration camp, including all the implications of those words. Sometimes people and animals are simply lonely, isolated. That is a difficult pain.
Beginning to really perceive the suffering around us, even within us, can be overwhelming, so start small.
Smile with your heart. Just a real smile can bring release to a hurting being. Touch. Respectfully touch a hand, a paw, a shoulder, a face with the intention of love. Ask. A person can go through their whole life without having someone really ask how they feel in their soul, ask what they really want from this minute, this day, this life. Really listen without thinking. That is a great gift. Offer a blessing. Mostly people will accept with surprise and gratitude, animals just accept. Offer love at the soul level, God love that melts all blockages and transforms all life.
So. Perceive, smile, touch, ask, listen, offer blessing. Offer love.
If there really isn't any significant pain in your immediate environment, good for you! There's plenty to go around in the bigger world. Love has no boundaries, borders, governments, distance or time.
Go do it.
