By Anita Rehker What a powerful exercise it is for the heart to give of itself. Not to diminish the benefits of physical exercise, but perhaps authentic giving from the heart contributes a great deal more than we realize to unclogging the arteries of selfishness, greed, unkindness, lack of compassion, to living life on the “me” plan. Whom is it that is we serve in others if not the Beloved who resides in each heart, walks in all feet, breathes through each breath? Can you see the eyes of the Divine shining back at you in the drug addict tugging at your shirt? The guy bearing a torn sign, “Will work for food,” when you’re quite sure that the money will go for a bottle of cheap wine – does he cause an immediate prayer of compassion to arise in your heart? The angry politician who sings, “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” and you are sure will contribute to the destruction of the world as we know it – does he elicit a healing prayer from you? We all are so convinced that had we been standing at the foot of the cross we wouldn’t have been among those crying out, “Crucify him!” Yet how often do we say the same thing in twenty-first-century language? Expressions such as, “slacker”, “low-life”, “fuck-up”, “those people”... Well, maybe you, like me, consider yourself a pretty generous hearted person. You know, those of us who declare ourselves to be compassionate, understanding, real servants of humanity. When we have the outer appearance of being a “do-gooder,” we can become so attached to our goodness, our selflessness, that we begin to suffer from inflammation of the ego. I’m a mentor in an organization for youth at risk and have a sixteen-year-old mentee whose father is a drug addict and mother is an alcoholic. “I bring order to her days, understanding, dependability, help her with her homework, advise her on her love life, encourage her story writing and art,” I tell myself. I practically strain my wrist patting myself on the back! The truth is, I do totally love her and want to see her thrive just as she deserves to. But in my more introspective, honest moments, I realize that she actually serves me by allowing me to love and show up for her. It is she who does me the honor of helping me work with my pride even as I expand my heart. She keeps me real and gives me a huge portion of herself simply by being who she is.
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So who is serving whom? We are in service to each other. It is the Beloved who, with great tenderness, nourishes both of our hearts, who offers a generous portion it Itself to us through each other. Blessings Anita b
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Anita Rehker • Email: arehker@sbcglobal.net
Volume 13
| Issue 4