The other week, I encountered an older lady who I've known kind of "around the edges" for many decades. The last time I saw her she was terribly ill, so it was a surprise to see her looking extremely healthy, almost beaming. Indeed, when we sat down to chat, I swear I saw a halo around her. She said she had never been happier, and I asked why this was. It turns out she spends every day doing things or making things for other people. She is a volunteer par excellence, and clearly one who is led from the heart to do what she does. Joy was emanating from her. I knew in that instant that she is (in my book) an angel and a saint.
However, the story doesn't end there. I left the encounter feeling rather "guilty" and inadequate, because at least up to this point, I have never found the same satisfaction in that kind of selflessness. Indeed, I would beam with far more joy helping people to rid themselves of their possessions than I would giving them more. There is an expectation of us as women that we should be eternally giving, and I know many women who are simply drained to the max right now who might not survive a "retirement" of nonstop giving and helping.
I've given a lot of thought to this, and I've tried to articulate it in previous blog posts too. There are many ways of joyfully helping the world; adding positively to the energy of life on this planet can take many forms. It can take the form of climbing a mountain that few people have ever scaled. It can take the form of advocating for the homeless or the environment. It can take the form of creating a unique piece of art. It can take the form of working with children, or creating new business opportunities, or loving your pets or taking a meditation retreat. It can take the form of winning a marathon or working at a soup kitchen. The sign that it is genuinely the optimum activity for you is if you beam with joy when you do it, and at the prospect of doing it. When we reach a high level of divine alignment, we will feel called to a particular activity that is right for us.
I remembered, fortunately, that there have been a number of moments in my life when I beamed just as brightly as my friend, and when an onlooker might have seen a bright aura -- the times when I have sung choral evensong, or participated as a congregant in the choir stalls of an English cathedral. I have also felt that way several times when I have finished writing this blog and prepared to click "publish." The "giving" I was doing was somewhat more subtle, more in the realm (at least I hope) of inspiration or beauty..
So today is our day, all of us who are doing our best to align with the highest light within us, to do no harm to anyone, and to help people and the planet with our joy and our gifts. Even if our halos aren't visible every day, even if they only come out once in a while, here's to the saint within all of us.
