A Message to Me

This past Saturday evening, at the end of a wonderful day, I was at a One Love concert at the Lancaster Metaphysical Chapel. For the last song/chant, everyone was asked to get up and form a circle around the room. I could tell they would be asking us to hold hands. The kids and I didn't know anyone else there. We had seen one familiar face earlier, but she was gone now. As we formed a circle, my thoughts were centered around isolating the kids, keeping them safe from strangers, and calming any anxiety they may be feeling. They have each had typical kid reactions to strangers in the past, and I expected hesitation in being asked to hold a stranger's hand. I was leading them to the edge of the room, with my daughter A (10 years old) behind me and my son J (13 years old) next to her. I obviously couldn't isolate both of them and wasn't sure where I would be best positioned. As we walked I realized I had the band's "lyrics sheet" in my hand. Instead of just setting it down or folding it into my pocket, I jokingly handed it to A to deal with. She similarly passed it along to J. But he got defensive and started bickering with his sister. That would be a huge distraction and potentially ruin the moment, so I stepped between them, took the sheet of paper back and put it in my pocket, and isolated them from each other.

At this point, it was time to close the circle and join hands. My trepidation concerning their reactions returned, and I realized now that I wasn't blocking either of them from a stranger - they each would have to hold hands with a stranger. As I looked to my left at J, he was looking to his left and holding out his hand to the older lady standing next to him. Awesome, no need for concern at all! When I looked to my right, A was already holding hands with the lady next to her. Wow! So I took my position confidently and proudly between my kids and held their hands.

The song was a version of the Gayatri Mantra. There were some spoken/chanted phrases in Hindi/Sanskrit that we weren't to worry about responding to or chanting with (this was a Kirtan concert). But a large section of this song was a chorus of the word "Hallelujah" repeated, which everyone sang along with.

As we sang Hallelujah, I closed my eyes and relished the moment. I was standing between my kids holding their hands as everyone sang. It was exactly where I should have been. I shouldn't have been on the edge to protect one of them after all - but right between them so we could share this moment. Never in a hundred years would I have opted for this arrangement, however. Without the distracting scuffle over the lyrics sheet, I would surely have been to one side. But it was time for me to experience this feeling, and so the Universe made sure I was able to.

"The next message is where you are when you hear the next message. Whenever you're ready you'll hear the next message.... Always there. Question is: Can you see it?" -- Ram Dass (in Be Here Now)