― Dalai Lama XIV
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this last week I participated in a spiritual retreat. The retreat included individual meetings with a spiritual guide, who met with me several times over the course of the week. I was paired with a wonderful religious, who fascinated and inspired me on many levels -- her faith in a God whose presence she feels at every moment, her dedication to religious life, her lifelong commitment to helping others, her openness to opportunity, her generosity with me and her sense of style (yes, this was a very elegant nun!).
During our
last meeting on Friday morning, I brought her a book on Buddhism that I thought
she would enjoy. She shared a prayer she
wanted me to have, and said she would make a copy of it and give it to me during
the retreat's closing prayer service that afternoon. She gave me a hug and I was off.
At the
retreat's closing service, I didn't see her.
I was disappointed. It was not
about the prayer, but about not seeing this amazing woman one more time. As the event host thanked the visiting
religious, she shared that my guide had had to leave earlier than expected
because there had been a death in her family.
I felt sad for her, but I also knew that there was probably no one
better prepared to comfort her family and guide its members through the loss.
As I gathered
my things, another religious handed me an envelope with my name on it. I immediately knew that it was from my spiritual
guide. Even before reading it, her
kindness touched my heart. Somehow as
she was leaving to deal with one of life's biggest challenges, she took some
time to leave behind this lovely kindness.
I waited
until I was in my car to open the envelope.
In the note, she thanked me for my kindness (the book), included the prayer she had
wanted me to have, and said that she asked God to bless me. I tucked the note inside my purse and felt
blessed by her kindness.
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