Don't Go Back to Sleep
The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you...don't go back to sleep.' Rumi
Yesterday I got to converse with a lovely human being who shall remain nameless, but has nonetheless inspired today’s quote. She is a young woman who has been facing a serious health crisis for several months now. As is typical with modern day medical experiences, she has been put off, told off, and passed off- for months now, but finally yesterday she arrived at biopsy day.In the weeks leading up to this I heard her express every emotion typical of someone facing what could be a life altering diagnosis. Fear, sadness, anger, and frustration. I also watched her gather up her courage and bolster her faith. She used both of these inner resources to buffer her anxiety and carry on in the world, in the ‘business as usual’ way, those around her needed. (True to her nature, she was busy taking care of others during her time of need.)As the day of her biopsy arrived, having just gotten off the graveyard shift at work, she found herself driving home under an inky black star filled sky. She shared with me that as she looked up into that infinite sky, a sense of peace and calm came over her and filled her with the absolute knowing that no matter what may lie ahead of her, it will all be okay.What she experienced is common for those who have the sudden realization that these lives we live are finite…. This common sense notion that we all think ‘we know' rarely has the ability to reach out and touch us deeply when we are immersed in these busy driven lives that most of us have.How ironic it is that knowledge of the finite is like a catapult that sends us out across a trajectory that somehow lets us touch that which is infinite. It’s a sweet spot that we can usually only find when life has stripped us of all the accouterments that do such a great job of lulling us to sleep.I know as that inky black starscape gave way to a new day’s dawn, my beautiful friend was wide awake to the truth of her existence… that she is safe, and all is well…