Measuring a life...

I send shafts of life shooting into the world
And you send them back to me, the pure light
From the prism of your heart, neatly bundled
Into bits and pieces of your reality, tidy.

Some things in life are unalterable: the wind chasing across the plains, the first snowfall of winter, and the first flowers in spring, the rising and setting of the sun. These are things that chart the ebb an flow of life. They blend together in movement with the stars. Fixed courses stitching together the fabric of our lives. They become backdrop against which our existence becomes three dimensional, giving color and substance to the time-line that stretches out before us.

These are the things that give credence and beauty to our space in time. We remember things, as they balance against the happenings of immutable purpose: when the snow came and we laughed and played--drinking hot cocoa by the fire; the time we felt the sunset was painted by the hand of God Himself; when the wind streamed through our hair--until it gusted so hard it knocked over the telephone pole down the lane. These things become yardsticks by which we measure the events of our lives.

These yardsticks, little ticks of time, have no reality without our acknowledgement. They exist of and by themselves, without thought or care for the acts of mortals. They exist beyond our existence, without mercy or compassion. The snow falls. The sun sets. The wind blows. Events that have no substance until we translate them into our lives. It is our perceptions of them that gives them meaning.

But what of our mercy and compassion When we rub up against the hard edges of another's reality, how do we translate it? Do we glibly put aside our own weaknesses and stand in judgment of the character flaws we perceive in others? Or do we cast a sin-covering eye, knowing that each life is sacred and must walk a mystical path in a physical plane? Is the hard edge of perception of our own devising, something we assume to be as measured against the rules and restraints we place on the souls of others? Who gave us the right to determine the value of another's character based on the mirror of our own heart?

If I cast my gaze upon you, and find you lacking, perhaps it is more a lack in myself that I see--the reflection of my own idiosyncrasies. There is no doubt that there are times when we miss-speak, react in anger, or just throw caution to the wind. But, overall, don't we strive to assume the trappings of civility? Don't we attempt to put our best foot forward? And if not, why not?

If we feel the freedom within ourselves to stand in judgment of others, we effectively cut ourselves off from any beauty inherent in that other. We lock ourselves into perceiving the foreign-ness rather than the similarities. We warp ourselves into a rigid form that sees only through a prism of narrow reality--a reality that can not or will not accept the rich textures that shape each individual life. In so doing, we lose the ability to learn, to grow.

This process of development, of personal growth, can not be measured by the changing of the tides or the rising and setting of the sun. These are natural elements, whose occurrence can enrich us. They are not the measure of a person's worth, nor do they determine the reality of a soul.

It is our ability to overcome our differences, to see within, and not cast judgment--to look at each other with mercy, compassion, forgiveness, that will determine how much value we have gained in our own lives. To hold up our way as the only right way places a burden on our own ability to view the world as a spiritual place, a place of reason, trust, and decency. My perception of you can not be clouded by my personal experiences. This does not discount the fact that there are wounded souls who have no other thought but to cause harm to others. These do exist. But, in the day to day living of life, the majority of people need only to be measured by the rule of compassion. In so doing, there will be gems of wisdom to be gleaned.

One of the greatest gifts that you can give another is to look at them and reflect only love.