Look with your heart

On some days we feel so lonely, so separate from everyone else. We might think that nobody can understand us. On difficult days we might feel vulnerable and it is easy to drown in suffering. Let me take your hand. Let me take you into the forest to observe. 

We can enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the soft green moss; we can dwell in the solidity of the trees and in the freshness of clear streams. Looking only superficially you might get the impression that the trees are isolated. You might see lonesome tree trunks carrying the weight of heavy branches by themselves. Let us take a closer look though, let us look with our hearts. All those fir trees, the spruces, the beech trees and even the small saplings have deep roots under the earth. Using only your eyes you cannot look under the earth. That doesn’t mean that those roots don’t exist. 

Without their roots the trees could not stand. Even though your eyes cannot see the roots, all those trees are deeply intertwined. They share the nourishing earth and fresh rain. Without the sunshine, the rain and the soil the forest could not be. The earth is embracing them – otherwise there would be no trees for us to enjoy. The earth embraces you, too. 

You might not be able to see it with your eyes, but without the earth supporting your every step you could not be. The earth embraces all beings without discrimination and all of us human beings are deeply intertwined. Let the earth hold and heal your pain. She offers you fresh air under a spacious sky and presents you beautiful flowers for you to see and to make you smile every day. Let us not miss those flowers. Let us not get carried away in worries and useless thoughts. Don’t get deceived by looking only superficially, by only seeing what makes you separate, what is not right. 

There are many wonderful conditions supporting your every breath for without them you could not be. Right in this moment you can take a look under the soil with your heart. Your lungs are breathing for you. The bread, the muesli, the coffee you might have had this morning was planted, was grown, was baked, was prepared for you. Your child, your neighbour or even a stranger might have smiled kindly at you today. The potted plant at the window might have bloomed for you. People, who care for you are still alive with you.

 Let us appreciate all those gifts. Let us be aware that all of us human beings, that all animals and plants and minerals share this miraculous earth, this refuge for all of us, together. Feel your hand, be aware of your gentle smile. You are a unique human being and there are billions of human beings with you. We are all children of the same earth, the same universe. Let us take good care of each other to preserve this safe home for all of us.