Service Above Self
Dear friends,
I have just returned from Italy and was with many friends at the large Ananda center there. It reminded me of an experience from years ago that is a great subject for this week's letter...
I was with my spiritual teacher in Italy. It was an unusual delight for my wife and me to have alone time with him, and we had gone into town for a cappuccino and some errands. As we sat in the bar (that’s what they call coffee shops in Italy, mind you!), a bedraggled man approached us.
His clothes were a bit torn, his hair was a mess, and he seemed homeless. He had a shallow low-cut cardboard box at his waist, held up by a piece of string around his neck. He walked up to our table and we could see that inside the box was a large variety of small random and inexpensive items. He muttered in Italian something about wondering if we wanted to buy any of the things he had for sale.
My immediate response in my heart was to wish he’d go away. Here I was, alone with Swami, and feeling such a joy and gratitude at this opportunity, and this “interloper” crashes my party! The nerve! Swami gave the man a beautiful smile and said, "Well, what do you have here?” He then proceeded to examine a number of items. To my surprise he wound up buying a comb, a small fan, and a couple of other things I was pretty sure he didn't need. He respectfully paid the man a few euros, and the man wandered off to the next table.
Swami gazed at me and said, “It is good to support someone who is trying to better himself in a dignified way.” I felt appropriately ashamed, but the lesson was well-learned.
It's funny how you can read about a principle many times, but one real-life story that happens in front of you is worth several books on the subject. May we each learn from what happens around us every day, as we have much to learn and the world has much to teach, if we are but open to its lessons and stories.
Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West