Indifference...

I read an excerpt in a novel I'm currently reading...it speaks of Chongg Ran:

'Chongg Ran is one of the least known of the Tibetan mind techniques, invented by Confucian sage Ton Wei during the T'ang Dynasty.' ...Thank you Google...

The training teaches you that... 'the thoughts you most try to banish are the ones that most persistently push themselves back in. The best way to not think of something is to possess it fully and then cultivate indifference.' City of Endless Night(Preston&Child).

And so...as we've touched on before...allowing the thoughts and emotions to surface, given room to breathe and move out in each exhale...cleansing the soul...repairing the heart...lovingly blessing the spirit...creating peace and indifference.

Indifferent to the excuses of the person who deliberately hurts you and then blames you for the hit, for the hands on moments ground out in hate, in disgust.

Indifferent to one who would seek your downfall to lift themselves above...to exalt themselves...boasting of violence and hatred...of belonging to a group who in truth, if they knew would not take the talk kindly, nor the violence against women.

Indifferent...perspective shifts does it not? The larger than life becomes small and insignificant when matched against the people you have met..when standing next to men of character and honour...casts a tiny shadow. I would speak truth dear hearts...I thought so highly of him...of his talents and skills and knowledge despite a lack in education in other areas. He grew larger than life in my mind...and pushed the bullying to new heights to cement that view. I was nothing without him...could do nothing without him...

Oh my friends...the lies....yes lies! told and repeated and regurgitated. I so hope and pray that you will see them for who they truly are...

Indifference leads to new sight...new perceptions...a reality check of monumental breadth and width...

This person is shrinking...growing smaller with each step taken...with exposure to being in close vicinity, wearing away...chipping away at the fears and revulsion of being so near.

I drove the Holy Cross today, getting nearer to the area near his home. Making my way down the last ten kilometres I passed a vehicle going up and called on the radio as it was clear he didn't have one, two kilometres later I noticed smoke on the side of the road and slowed to assess and found a fire. After calling it in, I moved the truck off the road and checked on the pi** can in the back to see if it was full and it was. As I was hefting it out of the back, two elderly gentleman made an appearance and climbed out to help...mere kilometres away from the house of the man I left behind.

Before long one of the contract fire Crew from 50 km's up at the fire I had just recently left, stopped and climbed out to help. The two old timers were straight from grumpier old men and it topped my entire week for snapshot moments...

Indifference in the face of these life moments...in pulling together with two complete strangers and a few familiar ones...the past begins to pale more and more...the darkness receding by inches...the lies and rejection, the sorrow and the grief lose their grip slightly...

Dear treasures...the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter each day...grows brighter with each interaction with new faces...with groups, with individuals young and old and everywhere in between...men, women all come to fight the fires. I have such admiration for the sooty, tired faces with the biggest smiles...it is sobering...the danger serious...

Yes...the past grows blurry...like the tide it recedes, losing its power..its hold on the heart and mind.

Life is short my friends...I wrote this excerpt last night before bed after a day of strange emotions and a feeling in the back of my mind. I will write at some point of the news I received and share when I can but suffice it to say that we cannot let one more day go by without forgiving, without loving, without letting those in our lives know just how important they are. We cannot live one more day in bondage...in sorrow and shame. No more dear friends...there is joy waiting on the other side of grief...there is comfort from a God who never leaves nor forsakes.

I would ask prayers for my family...

I would ask for your words of love to others...may you go today in surety, in confidence and know your worth.