Whenever you get the opportunity, take a
look at the work that some of the institutions or people involved in the restoration
of old paintings, works of art, manuscripts, sculptures, monuments and antiques do. These objects have been sullied by years, sometimes centuries, of
dust, grime, pollution, fungus and other rigours of exposure to time and existence.
The restorers remove all the unwanted matter particle by painstaking particle,
sometimes taking years over a single picture. The layers of foreign, unwanted
matter come off to show the original masterpiece in its true, pure, vivid
colours and form. Paintings, manuscripts, animal trophies, all come
alive as good as new. It is miraculous! The old stone and paper and fabric and
paint still throb with life, only the layers of junk, refuse and litter collected with age need to be removed.
Do I need to write further? Do I need to
tell you that the original innocence is alive and bright inside? Is it not plain
for all to see that one does not need to put on any superfluous masks,
disguises or supplements, of actions, thoughts, deeds or plain old make-up?
We do not need to put on shows of
intellect, caring, love, emotions or any façade at all. We are Love. We are
Truth. We are Beauty. We are One.
All that is required is the peeling away,
layer by painstaking layer, of the muck, grime and pollution that has covered
the presence of the holy and pure spirit inside all of us. The first and most
important step is to acknowledge the presence of love and innocence inside each
one of us. It is not something that I have and you do not. It is not something reserved
for saints and angels and mythical super-beings. Love is the essence of every
being.
The moment we realize that we have it in
us, we have opened the windows to our inner selves and encouraged Love in all
its forms and manifestations to grow and flourish.
When we agree that lust, greed, anger,
avarice, covetousness and insensitive self-centred egotism are the pollutants
and grime of centuries of exposure, we have identified the layers to be
removed. And just the grasping of this truth starts creating subconscious
conditions for their peeling off.
There is only one difference in this form
of Restoration of the original art work; as the work progresses from the
outside, that is, by one’s deliberate efforts, the glow radiates stronger each
day from inside, and progression is geometric, if not more.
Once, I was at a hospital with a patient who had just been diagnosed with a cancer. The doctors said there were new drugs available that could completely rid the body of that particular cancer in less than a year.
ReplyDeleteYet, we were extremely apprehensive: 'What if the diagnosis was wrong? What if the drugs don't work? What if the doctors are over-confident? What if. . ? What if. . ?'
It was, interestingly, a lab technician in the CT Scan lab who put everything in the right perspective for us: "Nowadays, most cancers are curable if the diagnosis is timely and correct. The key is the patient's attitude. The real fight is from within you, the drugs are merely going to help you along the way to recovery; don't give in and you will win."
Needless to say, the patient recovered completely and has since enjoyed more than a decade of a cancer-free life, a life of positive thinking and inner strength.
Our Key 'mid Ease.
Yes, there is strength inside, there is beauty inside, there is health inside. There are also prayers and blessings inside. And there is reflection.
DeleteSomewhere, one tends to accumulate, digest, assimilate and impart and attract attitudes similar to one's own.
I've heard it said that one is a sum of one's past experiences, I'd like to say that one is a sum of one's past attitudes.
The battle your 'patient' won was not against death, it was a fight against the disease. Death, of course, will come in its own time; it is a part of life. But he won a battle of life. And I daresay that the accumulation of goodwill, good cheer, optimistic acceptance and blessings your patient would have imparted in his healthier days reflected back on him, even from 'unknown' quarters like the lab technician. The world balances out.
I would like to know how close to the truth my thoughts about your patient's outlook to living are. Please tell me whether I'm right or have missed the mark.
Wishing you inner peace, and the attendant power to bless.
Zeina Glo.
Dear Zeina Glo,
DeleteThe elderly gentleman I wrote about has, indeed, lead a wholesome life: he carried out his duties conscientiously, never tolerated high handedness from people in superior positions, fought for his rights and had his share of fun along the way.
His has been a life many would envy. Of course, some positive minded people can take a lesson from his life and use it to lead a better, more meaningful life themselves.
Our Key 'mid Ease.