The Secrets of a Gentle Life

There beside the tree she sits. Her back against its sturdy trunk. How old is she? How innocent? How unaware of the outer world?

Just a little person maybe five or six, enjoying life all by herself. Can you hear the words she's saying now?

"Mr. Tree, why is your skin so hard? I don't mind. I like spending time with you. I was just wondering." She sat there quietly and heard Him answer her. "My skin is hard Little One so I can survive the winter months. That's how I became so old. As you grow up your skin will get harder too."

She heard her grandma calling her so she got up and hugged Mr. Tree for answering her and followed her grandma's voice.

Once inside the house she told her grandma what Mr. Tree has said. "But Grandma I don't want my skin to get hard when I grow up."

"Look at me, Mary, is my skin hard?"

"No Grandma. Why is that?"

"Because I use a special cream made just for that purpose. I didn't want hard skin either when Mr. Tree told me about it. You can use a little each night just to be safe."

"Ok Grandma" and off she went to do what she was told.

Several years later one day at school the older kids were being mean to a poor little frog on the playground. She saw what was happening and went crying to a teacher to make them stop. The teacher broke up the bunch and shooed the frog away. As she turned around Mary saw that the teacher wasn't upset. So she asked her, "Why aren't you crying too?" The teacher's words stung her heart, "As you get older you'll get a stomach for it too - nothing will bother you." Mary turned away from the teacher and cried silently.

That night she told her grandma what had happened and said "But I don't want my stomach to get used to it. I don't want to have nothing bother me. I want to be able to feel stuff."
Her grandma, seeing how upset she was, said "We can make sure that your stomach never gets like that".

"How Grandma?"

"Each night when I make your dinner I will shake some of my special salt into the food. You'll never just get used to anything."

"Ok Grandma" and off she went to do her homework.

Many years later at the end of a long day she was tired and was sitting at her desk alone. One of her co-workers stopped and asked her about some extra supplies. She understood the question and said "No I will not help you steal anything." Her co-worker said, "No one is here - no one will know. Besides you're always so busy you don't notice what happens around you. I could have just taken it and you wouldn't have known. Next time maybe I will."

She sat there in silence knowing that he was right. She had been lost in such deep thought she would not have known. That night she called her grandma and told her what had happened. "Grandma it was like I was 'absent' from life. I don't want to be like this."

"Mary I'm going to bring you some special water. I want you to take a sip a night and be fully present for that sip. You'll never be 'absent' again."

"Ok Grandma" and she went off to cook her husband dinner.

A few years later when she found out she was going to have a child, her grandma started making things for the baby. She was so excited about this Little One meeting her grandma. Half way through the pregnancy her grandma passed away in her sleep. Mary thought her world had ended until she started going through her grandma's things. She came across a box mixed in with the baby items her grandma had already made. There was a card on the box and it read - "inside you will find the secrets to your life."

She opened the box and inside was the jar of cream she used to use as a child. The special salt shaker that seasoned her dinners long ago. And several bottles of water - that were still sealed. As she picked up each item there was a note attached to it.

The cream said, "You can find me in any drugstore - but I will be empty until you fill me with love. If you place a layer of love between you and the outer world your skin won't get hard. Don't forget to talk to Mr. Tree. He has a lot of wisdom to share."

The salt shaker said, "You can get me at any food store - but I will be empty until you fill me with compassion. With compassion deep inside of you, you will never feel indifference to the world."

The water said, "You can find me in any store - but I will be empty until you fill me with awareness and respect. With this cleansing your body - your soul will never be absent or disrespectful to yourself or anyone else."

There was a fourth note which said, "Little One with trust in your heart you have become wise because you believed. Teach your little one to believe, to trust, to love, to have compassion, awareness and respect. I will be with you both forever. I love you, Grandma."

With tears streaming down her face she decided to name her little one after her Grandma. She vowed that she would bring this little girl up the way her grandma did with her. To see past the surface - straight to the heart and to live from that space.

This story is dedicated to my Grandma who believed in me and taught me a different way of life.
I live in gratitude to her. May you find all the hidden miracles in everyday life that she used to share with me.