Tags
Alan Cohen, connect, gaze, honesty, joining, look, one, see, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom School
Last evening we welcomed 14 people to a Wisdom School here in Windsor. As an ice breaker, we made two concentric circles, facing each other, with the inner circle moving one person to the right each time a chime rang – once every 15 seconds. The task was simply to look the person in front of us in the eyes and hold that gaze until it was time to move.
I am not fond of that kind of exercise because it can be awkward and revealing to really look deeply at someone for a sustained period, but 15 seconds was relatively easy. It reveals something of ourselves to the other and we must be ready to offer it!
I was surprised to find Alan Cohen’s reflection today on the same topic. He is speaking of a chat the was having with an acquaintance that became something different when he said, “I caught Steve’s eyes and for a moment I could really see him. I saw beyond his job and his fear, and I saw the person that he was. I thanked him for his honesty…That moment was worth everything to me. It stood out in contrast to a day of unconscious business like a delicate flower growing in a pile of rubble. In that moment I remembered what friendship and human relations are all about. They are not about stuff and talk and presentation; they are about people joining in the place where we are one.”
Let us greet people today in genuine willingness to connect and offer ourselves in conscious and honest connection to each other for the good of all.
Quotes from Pendle Hill: Today’s quote comes from Jan Phillips in her book Finding the On-Ramp on Your Spiritual Path.