Day 095j: Flowing ever Onward … (July 18, 2019)
And it was shortly thereafter that I remembered (and re-membered) yet another crucial Life Lesson; one that both Camino pilgrims & Life pilgrims would all do well to embody – namely: that whenever an imminent encounter looks likely to be closed off or under-appreciative or in any way dysfunctional*; if there ever is an obvious higher likelihood that your gifts will be rejected or your presence will engender discord, flow quietly onward … In the case at hand, a vegan rest-station had been announcing its presence for a few kilometers already, and I was excited to arrive and park myself there – maybe for some sustenance, and yet certainly to share The Way. And yet when I pulled up to the same, I saw that Patricia & Frederick – two beautiful Souls who had indeed been marginally kind to me back in El Acebo, and yet also two beautiful Souls who had quite clearly (while also very respectfully) in their own way denounced my Mission – both its mendicant status and its vegan nature – were already there. Not wanting to offend with my presence or tempt anyone to “give” to me from a sense of obligation or shame, I simply “became the river” as it were – shrugging my shoulders and smiling to myself while sauntering smoothly onward along The Way … 🙂
*While we are indeed always to err on the side of Loving Anyway, in cases where our Love has already been denounced or denigrated or dismissed by those present, we should simply move on and boldly offer the same to another elsewhere.
“Flow can be found in many things – teaching and sharing and carving and exploring and healing and writing and serving and landscaping and interpreting and speaking truth. Of course, what is common amongst all these differing variants is not only the exhilaration from every instant of selfless interaction, but also an gentle-yet-firm refusal to ‘push the river’ in any way – to not teach when there is no willing student, to not share when there is no willing recipient, to not heal when there is no willing patient, to not speak when there is no willing listener. It is crucial that we make our lives abut Love & Kindness & Generosity, no doubt. And yet it is just as crucial that we humble ourselves enough to know that our gifts are not needed if they are clearly not wanted.” ~ inspired by Heather E. Heying
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