I had the blessing of meeting a young woman once. Her smile bore the testimony of a life, fully lived; her eyes softened with peaceful glow.

She was the picture of health — vivacious and strong, with the heart’s will to overcome any challenge. And yet, I could tell there was something more; something as of yet, unsaid.

We had coffee together as we waited for the physicians to arrive. It was my first of many office visits to specialists considered to be the ‘best in their field.’ My temperament, normally centered, was worn with uncertainty as I anticipated yet another ‘best possible outcome.’

“Who are these people to know of our fate,” she began. She then shared her story, one infused with the passion of never having let a moment pass; one tempered with a deeper-heart sort of understanding.

“I was born with HIV,” she began. “My mother was addicted to crack cocaine. I doubt she even knew she was pregnant.”

She later described the agony of frequent hospitalizations; the subsequent brain fungus and pneumonia that nearly killed her. And, the nurses that politely declined their shifts.

“By the time I was 7, I was diagnosed with full blown AIDS.”

It was the height of the AIDS epidemic, and many were being turned away — relegated to park benches, by a hospital staff too fearful to engage.

“I was dying and they wouldn’t help,” she said. “Where was their willingness to step towards compassion?”

It was one of many conversations that ultimately moved me to action.

So often we’re fearful to engage our fellow man. We worry how our efforts may be received, or worse yet – that our efforts will hold no value. We never once consider their fundamental needs; we never once look into the heart of another.

It is, perhaps, the truest test of our capacity to ‘live our practice.’ Its essence formed within the roots of our gratitude.

As theologian Henri Nouwen once wrote in The Return of the Prodigal Son: “Gratitude goes beyond the ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift.”

We are all a gift to this world, my loves. A blessing with purpose to care for another, to immerse ourselves in the prospect of enabling Humanity’s reach. Our destiny exists right here in these moments; transcending all but the limitations of time and space.

“Remember,” she smiled, as she rose to walk away. “Never accept another’s reality as your own.”

And though she may never fully understand the extent of this brief interaction, it was her words that helped to form our space here.

Imagine had she not ever taken the time? Imagine had she simply turned away?

That’s the better miracle of this great and crazy life…we never truly know the impression our hearts may have upon another.

So, let me ask you – how alive is your practice, my loves? Does it encourage you to know your impact might be life lasting?

A little something to consider on this day ~

In peace, namaste ❤️