I’m a Buddhist, and I enjoy reading Tricycle magazine.  This morning I sat in Lunchroom Martens, propped up my phone, and followed my eyes through an article entitled “Love In Action”, written by Devin Berry.

These words came:

Bring to mind someone in your life who’s having difficulty, someone that you care about.  Still connected with breath and body, take a moment to sense the nature of their difficulty and what that might be like for them.  See if you can look at the world from this person’s eyes, feel with their heart.  See if you can get a sense of what it’s like from the inside – what it’s like to be living in their circumstances.  Staying connected to breath and body, ask yourself “What’s the hardest thing for this person?  What’s most disappointing?  What’s hurtful or scary?  What’s the most challenging situation this person is living with?”

Still connected to breath and body, sense and feel underneath the words that arise from the point of view of that person.  What’s the belief here – that I’ll never get what I want?  That I’m failing?  That I’m somehow unlovable?  How does this person feel that experience in their heart?  From the inside out, you might get a sense of what, in this place of vulnerability, they most need or want.

Now come back to your own presence, but still sensing that you can feel this person within you as you’re breathing in and breathing out, contacting that vulnerability.  With the outbreath, see if you can offer a bit of what’s needed.  Perhaps that person needs to be cared for, or they wish to be understood.  See if you can breathe in their pain, and as you breathe out, offer your presence and tenderness.  Offer your care.

“May you be held in the arms of compassion.  May you be free of pain.  May you be well.”  Or maybe simply offer: “I’m sorry, and I love you.”

Nice.

As I finished “I love you” an old man sat down at the table across from me.  I smiled … and so did he.

And I knew … time to put away the phone and “be with”.  He spoke Dutch, and a little English.  The same with me – except it was “een beetje Netherlands”.

I asked the basics in Dutch … He was 85, lives above my pharmacy, and I’ll call him Frederick.

He enjoyed his eggs and toast, often drooling between bites.  No matter.  We connected.

And I realized … that I need to know far more Dutch if I’m to deepen the connection with folks who speak little or no English.

My favourite question to ask English-speaking people is:

What’s important to you?

I just looked it up in Google Translate:

Wat is belangrijk voor jou?

***

My future beckons