I have been having some health challenges lately, and it's been a big eye-opening and humbling experience. For one thing, it turns out that they are a whole lot of folks in my life that have been working very hard on my behalf for years without my ever showing them much appreciation or gratefulness! They are called Liver, Heart, Kidneys, Lung, Cells, Good Intestinal Bacteria etc. In my 30+ years on the planet, I can't say I have taken the time to learn a whole lot about them, how they work, what makes them happy etc. They basically have been Strangers to me!
Worse, I have totally taken these guys for granted and put them under a lot of pressure to perform under more and more challenging situations... stress, environmental pollution, too much work, too many sweets etc. And wow, have they been patient and willing to put through a lot! I really wish I had not waited until some of them started protesting to start paying attention to them, but as they say, better late than never. In any case, I'm now committed to listen to these folks and turn them into my best friends, and guess what? ...as with everyone else, it all starts with simple acts of kindness!
It's actually fun... try this out, and do something nice for your "strangers within" once in a while. Read a sufi poem to your heart, take your lungs for a spontaneous walk in the woods, serve your liver some of its favorite cleansing herbs, and give all of them a day off now and then by fasting on vegetable juices or light soup. It's truly amazing what happens when we start befriending these incredible beings that make up our miraculous inner world! It's definitely broadened my understanding of what it means to 'be the change one wants to see in the world."
You can't tag these folks with a smile card but trust me, they will de-fi-ni-te-ly pay it forward! Generosity is in their genes. Our bodies are a lot more sophisticated that our human systems... they are already organized as a gift-economy!
: )
