What’s the hold up?
A master of the universe? Secretly, that is probably what a lot of us would like to be. Or at least we assume we are the centre of the universe, that things will go the way we like them, that we won’t get the things we don’t want. Yet time and again, we are reminded that this is not the case (despite the apparent presence of such ‘masters’ in the world around us).
Running late yesterday to an appointment, there was suddenly a traffic jam (surprise, surprise). ‘What’s the hold up?’ You could feel this unspoken irritation from the bus passengers I was travelling with. And to be honest, a slight tightness on my part too, even though I knew it was my fault that I was in a hurry. Do I get off the bus to walk? Too far. Change to another bus? There isn’t one. No choice.
Then suddenly we see what the ‘hold up’ is: a funeral. The narrow road ahead of us in front of a church is parked up on both sides with mourners: friends, family, some walking quite slowly and sadly, some looking around as if lost. A large lorry waited while one woman helped an elderly woman out of her car and ushered her to the pavement. No horn honking, no gestures of irritation or obscenities.
The irritation evaporated with the realisation of this is what happens to all of us, that we can’t ultimately control anything. A moment of shared humanity, of the interconnectedness of life, of death, of sharing this precious earth.
May that being, may all beings leaving this realm travel with ease and love.
With a bow
Maitripushpa
