I look at my experiences as a classroom in earth school.  When faced with a problem or situation, I ask myself, “what’s the best way to handle this moment? How can I best serve this person, or help in this situation”? If it requires a solution that is not currently in my skillset, then I set about learning whatever it is I need to educate myself. But sometimes I simply watch. I just try my best to learn from others.

Massage has given me a unique perspective on humans. Over the years, I have watched births while massaging the mother.  I have massaged people as they exhaled their last breath and seen everything in between.

Lately, I have been working with my friends at Sarah Care.  Some of our participants have dementia. The symptoms are different in each person. I am trying to use my interactions with them to be a more compassionate person. As I listen to their concerns or reactions to things, I ask myself what is the kindest way I can respond to this person?

When I was trying hard to comfort someone it occurred to me that the person might not even remember what I said in an hour. Then I thought well, I’ll remember that I did my best and she’ll still have that energy directed towards her. I feel all our interactions are opportunities to serve the higher good.

When our intent is love and compassion, it increases the odds of being helpful and learning about each other. Regardless of what our occupation is or even if we’re just driving down the road in traffic. We can choose to be hostile or not and we could choose to realize that we’re all here together and that we’re sharing the road or we’re sharing the Earth.

Namaste

Valentina Boonstra