A Car Accident

 "The long, winding road home. It leads me to your door... 
crying for the day... Hey Jude!" Paul McCartney

The other day I came to an intersection in my town and observed while waiting at a very long light, a car accident. There were no fatalities, no apparent injuries. The cars were in the process of being towed; the occupants stood at the side of the road, alternately being interviewed by the police and looked wide-eyed and dazed. A police officer was orchestrating the traffic around the mishap at rush hour.

Often we have a certain reality of how the world is and how it must work, how it should work. Then something jolts us, violently even, to our fuller senses, like a car crash. Even a "fender bender" is stressful. An accident such as a high speed collision, a roll over or a side impact or a tire blowout are all potentially fatal occurrences. The stress level can become very high, as a survival instinct, like fight or flight. I noticed the young men involved. Clean cut, they appeared to be university students; one was wearing clothing suitable for a Judo or Aikido class. His companion clutched some folders and notebooks to his chest and stared about vacantly. The other driver was equally vacant, seated on the grass also staring into space. The apparent passenger(s) spoke to the police.

It was striking how they appeared so befuddled, so vacant, these competent, intelligent, university men. Their world as they knew was suddenly altered; their stress and ability to cope was challenged. In the blink of an eye, their everyday existence, their ideas and values were laid out on the pavement. Their (former) car was destroyed. Taking it all in so suddenly was extremely stressful. Who could think otherwise? In an instant they were forced to speak about their vehicle in the past tense, their intended activities were possibly quite lame. It was suddenly a greater, wider reality: survival.

Reminded once again about how small and fragile each one of us are in this vast world, under great, blue skies, I thought about no matter how we get there, to the place of ungroundedness, there is always some help to secure our foundations, to establish our mooring; we have one another and each other. It is love that makes the day liveable and love that brings us close once more.
For those men involved in the accident under great, sudden stress, no doubt their loved ones were most on their minds, and they, those loved, were soon to express their own horror at the possibility of the loss of each other.
The tow truck finished its work; the policeman re-opened all lanes now that the debris was removed. The traffic moved on. It was all in a day.

The Rites of Spring

We Are One in the Spirit
lyrics by Jason Upton
Listen Here

We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit

We are one in the Lord

two of several verses:

We will walk with each other

We will walk hand in hand

We will walk with each other

We will walk hand in hand

And together we’ll spread the news

That God is in our land

We will work with each other

We will work side by side

We will work with each other

We will work side by side

And we’ll guard each man’s dignity

And save each man’s pride

This song often sung as a chant in meditation is so simple yet powerful as a reminder of the Oneness of life, one in spirit, one in the Lord, walking hand in hand, working side by side, saving, respecting a man's dignity. As a younger person, though, I had not yet learned this chant, nor entered into anything like it; I did come to learn of the Oneness, quite by accident.

While in college there were the required studies that every student selected from to complete their degree, no matter what their major. Many disdained these classes and I wasn't always too enthusiastic either; one semester, I was short a required study area course; already having taken art history, music literature and drama studies. Well now, what was left? There was in the catalog another course previously avoided. It was a five hour class that met every afternoon, five times a week. That meant lots of work; yet without another better alternative, I took it.

It was a survey course in the Humanities. Tons of reading, short writings and study, but quickly I came to love it. And I came to appreciate the interconnections of our lives; that in some way, somehow we are one, even if we don't always consciously recognize or see it in our own daily travels. I was hooked and have remained with a passion for humanities ever since. Humanities I can say is the study of man and his works. It was been a great good in my life to recognize everything as diverse as Chaucer and Hamlet, to The Rites of Spring, to the Political movements of the 20th century, and the history or philosophy of antiquity have meaning and relevance still, if we can see that; I see it as a good and I am well. We cannot forget those who in the next and coming century, those in want or those in loss when we have a clear view from the past to the present. This makes a way for what comes next.

Today I remain mostly interested in the inter-workings of the world; it's components and their meanings are all something of a mystery and a treasure. Regardless of the Way you find, many, many are coming to One through the varieties of religious experience. It's a life for us all to have.