Some Thoughts
for A Sunday in January
inosculation
noun
1
The union of two vessels of an animal body by openings into each
other, so as to permit the passage of a fluid; anastomosis.
2
Hence Some analogous union or relation; a running together;
junction: as, in botany, the inosculation of
the veins of a leaf, or of a scion with the stock in grafting.
3
The junction or connection of vessels, channels, or passages, so
that their contents pass from one to the other; union by mouths or ducts;
anastomosis; intercommunication.
The Century Dictionary.
This word, Inosculation, was new to me as my eyes
came across it. At least, I do not
remember encountering it before. The
photograph that followed in the article
I was reading was so similar to one of my own, taken when my son and I were
seriously trimming a greatly overgrown, out of control rhododendron in my yard.
I had never seen a living connection like this between plants or trees.
The article by one of my favorite writers/collectors of meaningful
ideas, Maria Popova, shared some thoughts from Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor
and Noble Peace Prize laureate. He was
discussing the importance of our interconnectedness, person to person and with
the Universe as a whole. One such
thought:
“I believe if people talk, and they
talk sincerely, with the same respect that one owes to a close friend or to
God, something will come out of that, something good. I would call it presence.
[…] I would like my students to be
presence whenever people need a human presence. […] If there is a governing precept in my life,
it is that: If somebody needs me, I must be there.”
Ms. Popova frames it this way:
“Whenever we quiet the voices of
so-called civilization — the voices of selfing and
hard-edged individualism — that sense of the interconnectedness of life and of
lives becomes audible.”
So much is conjured in my mind when thinking and feeling presence.
Through the years I have felt in and out of presence often. In times of meditation and teaching and
writing about being here now it has been easier and more natural to feel
connected with others. When I have felt
overwhelmed by the constant barrage of information, mostly about how bad things
are, I drifted out of presence and into to hubbub of just making it to
the next opportunity to regain peace of mind and the remembrance of the many
friends who have always been there for me.
I begin to recapture the connectedness felt when I was truly able to be
there for others.
Maria Popova points out that the greatest challenge facing
us all, however, is how to be with each other’s suffering. In consonance with
the great Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s insight that “when
you love someone, the best thing you can offer that person is your presence,”
To all who have been there for me, thank you! For those whose life I may have touched with presence,
I am so grateful to have been there and to remain there inosculated in
sharing the Life Force of All That Is!
