Abundance, Kindness, Grace
Part 1 of 4 in a Sanibel Island series…
A daily Sanibel ritual is to walk to the beach to watch the sun set over the water. Sanibel is famous for its spectacular sunsets. On this day, the sky was overcast, and there wasn’t much of a sunset. But as I looked around, I saw – abundance! I was surrounded by the richness of sand, water, waves, air, sky. I was struck by the vastness of these things. In times when we lean toward fear, caution, and scarcity, it was a delight to notice and be moved by this abundance offered up by nature.
The next morning, I approached the café counter, perusing the blackboard (although I already knew perfectly well what I would order; it never changes). The barista looked at me with anticipation. I started to speak when an elderly man approached from the side and flagged her attention. Doesn’t he know to wait his turn, I wondered. He was waving his credit card to get the barista’s attention. He said, “Use my card.” I turned to look at him. He said, “Use my card for her order.” I turned more fully toward him, realizing he wanted to buy my coffee for me. “It’s what I do,” he smiled as I thanked him.
Kindness. It is still here.
Later that day, on my walk in the glorious Florida heat, I listened to the Barack Obama/Bruce Springsteen podcast, Renegades. This choice was a detour from my usual Buddhist podcasts or books to listen to while I walk. These are two men I admire a lot. Listening to Obama talk, I was reminded, re-filled with his grounded intelligence, integrity, and humor. I miss him. A lot. They were discussing music (of course), and Obama was recounting the shootings at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended that memorial service and initially planned to sit quietly in the audience. He declined the request to offer a eulogy, saying he was out of words. Then in his hotel room the night before the service, he encountered the word grace. This led to the stunning moment in the eulogy he decided to give after all when he quietly began to sing Amazing Grace. Slowly, with no accompaniment. No one expected it. The place wept. I wept the first time I heard a recording of it, shortly after the day of the service. I teared up again hearing a few bars of it on this podcast as Obama told the story.
Why was he telling this story? After so many gun shootings that he, the most powerful man in the world, could not convince Congress to address, he thought he had lost belief in grace. And then grace found him again. And he offered it back to all of us.
Abundance, kindness, grace. These things do live on, even today.
You’re welcome to leave comments or your own reflections below …
