A smile from the universe

A friend lately has asked me, “look at what you want to achieve, it is so colossally difficult. There is almost zero possibility that you would succeed. Why are you still doing all these?” Of course, I don’t agree with her that the there is zero possibility of success but there is also no point reasoning with her because we have totally different reference points. So I told her, “Even if there is no possibility of success, I would still do this, because this work gives me so much joy, joy that is beyond my imagination”.

Yes, everyday the news is depressing. Everyday there is more hatred, more violence, more separation, … But at the same time, I also see more beauty, more love and more courage …

Some of you may also have the same experiences; the more we act out of our true and higher self, the more joyful synchronicity we experience in our life. The concept of synchronicity is first created by psychologist Carl Jung. “Synchronous events reveal an underlying pattern which encompasses, but is larger than, any of the systems which display the synchronicity.” I’d like to share one small story of synchronicity with you.

About a week before the outbreak of the crisis in Tibet, I went to a meeting in a building that I have visited many times before. On that day, I happened to see a framed quote from one of my spiritual teachers, Reverend Keith Rhinehart. That frame has always been there but somehow that day it intensely grabbed my attention. It says, “A new era of human consciousness is dawning. Look around you, daybreak is everywhere…” “Daybreak is everywhere” has created a vivid image in my head and struck me as a flash light in the dark.

Daybreak occurs at the darkest and coldest moment. One of my passions is mountain climbing. Several years ago, my climbing partners and I went on a rock climbing trip and got off route. We were forced to spend a night without any camping equipment on a small ledge of a table top size on the cliff side of a mountain at 9000 ft. We spent a cold long night huddling with each other on that ledge. When the night got colder and colder, we knew that morning was getting closer and closer. It was when the cold and darkness became unbearable; dawn suddenly came through, bringing light and warmth… This quote suddenly brought back that memory to me.

Days later the crisis in Tibet escalated. An unexpected event happened to me and led me to write the first article under the name Skylark. Per suggestion of a friend, I chose a pen name to protect my identity. "Skylark" came in a flash of intuition. I liked it because lark was a very common bird that can be found almost everywhere in the world. And I always liked the singing of the “Skylark”, a particular one native to China.

The week after that I was on an emotional roller coaster. Watching the two groups of people who I connect to deeply being engulfed in hatred and violence has put a huge toll on me. But I managed to pull through… I knew something had changed inside of me and another dimension of my life is starting to unfold and will create a whole new layer of depth and width…

This morning was the first time I re-centered myself after this emotional roller coaster. In the crack of dawn, before I drove out to work, I decided to change the CD that I’ve been listening to in my car for the past week. As I pulled out the CD and put it back into its CD case, a line of small texts on the back of the case suddenly caught my eyes. Of course, this is a CD I’ve owned for years and never have I noticed this line on the case. It says,

“Like the lark at break of day, arising from the sullen earth, sing hymns at the heaven’s gate.” –Shakespeare, Sonnet 29

Suddenly, a wave of warmth enfolded me. I looked up through my tears-filled eyes. A thick layer of fog was dancing through the trees and the birds were chipping a spring time song… Everything is extremely bright in the morning sun. The world is painfully beautiful and full of life. Right then, I saw a smile delivered from the deep heart of the universe.