The process of surgery and recovery from it creates a unique opportunity for introspection and growth. It is probably the same phenomenon that causes us to say some of the following.
“Why does it always take the death of a friend for us to realize that life is precious?”
“Why can’t people act like this all the time, not just when there is a national disaster?”
“Why is it that we don’t really appreciate something like water or heat until they are no longer available?”
The answer in every case is that we are primarily unconscious in our passage through life.
A total knee replacement is just that. The surgeon cuts off upper and lower big bones, implants two devices, one in each bone and they connect through an artificial joint. I had been told that this surgery was demanding and that the rehab was painful and took considerable time. Twelve days out, walking with just a cane, the new knee twice as strong as the unrepaired knee, it is all truly a miracle and worth every second of effort. About two days after the surgery, my mind started to make noises about reasonableness and what is fair in the world.
Why was I having to go through this not once, but twice? (The second knee will be replaced the Monday before Christmas.) The only reason I have had trouble with my knees over the past thirty-seven years is because I was trying to prevent a youngster from being either hit by a car or killed. Why should I have to recover and have the rehab be so painful? Wasn’t three previous MCL/ACL repair surgeries enough? Can you see the great big wannamil (a creature of any size really, that whines and whines and whines about conditions that make no difference) loose in the room known as my mind?
Fortunately, I woke up a few seconds later. Do you realize that your new left knee joint doesn’t give one good damn how it got injured and then repaired? It only cares if you do the proper rehab. Are you going to do it? Do you want the best knee joint possible? Are you willing to put up with the pain? Are you ready to start? Will all this good energy guarantee success? Not necessarily. Are you going to give it 110% anyway? Yes. Good. Let’s get started.
“Remember that sentence from Paul: ‘If I give my body to be burned and all my goods to feed the poor and have not love….’. It’s not your actions, it’s your being that counts. Then you might swing into action. You might or you might not. You can’t decide that until you are awake. Unfortunately all the emphasis is concentrated on saving the world and very little emphasis is given to waking up. When you wake up, you will know what to do or what not to do.”
– Anthony DeMello, Awareness, Page 87
Anytime you are looking outside yourself for a solution, you can count on the fact that you are not awake. Recently, the most successful (financially) athlete in the history of the world has come prominently into the news for what appear to be issues of infidelity according to Tiger Woods. Married to a “cosmetically” appealing woman, with two young children to care for, out of the clear blue comes what appears to be self-destruction. Happiness cannot be achieved, it must be created. If I think, I will be happy when…. It will never happen. Tiger Woods needs to know that he is loved absolutely and unconditionally. No one can give that to him. His value and worth have nothing to do with what he has achieved or what he has done. Somewhere in his earlier years, he decided, that regardless of what the world seemed to say, he was not valuable. Until that changes, he will continue to create chaos and damage to others. It won’t matter how many golf tournaments Tiger wins. What will matter is if he learns to love himself and then do every next thing out of the space of loving-kindness.
“Anytime you have a negative feeling toward anyone, you’re living in an illusion.
There’s something, something seriously wrong with you. You’re not seeing reality.
Something inside of you has to change. But what do we generally do when we have a negative feeling? ‘He is to blame, she is to blame, She’s got to change.’ No!
The world’s alright. The one who has to change is you.”
– Anthony DeMello, Awareness, Page 53
So how would it be if we worked at giving ourselves the gift of awareness, being awake, at the holiday season this year and from now on?
Can you see that today, if you can read these words, you have been given the gift of life? At least for this second.
Are you willing to be grateful for this gift? Now?
Can you see that in every moment, we are a contribution, either positive or negative?
Are you willing to contribute the gift of loving-kindness into everything you do?
Starting now?
Are you willing to recognize that anytime you are looking to blame another for your attitude, you are looking in the wrong place?
Are you willing to give every person around you the gift of loving-kindness?
What would it cost you?
Who do you think might benefit most from that gift?
I am certainly grateful for your presence in my life and making room for these surgeries!
For Diane Thorne and Kelly Williams, tireless volunteers who make this newsletter and often my equanimity possible.
For Sally Hennessey, Steve Ives, Sandy Vilas, Paula Benoit and Hammie Ward who serve on our Board of Directors and contribute in many ways beyond.
For our school, YMCA, corporate and individual clients who help make this work possible!
For our contributors!
For Joy, Neville, Martina and others who have covered course meetings and assisted in general.
For those who take this work into distant lands and hearts all around!
May now be the time when loving-kindness becomes a reality for every being.
The Magic Samaritan
Robert Mason, Santa Fe, NM
I met Bill Brunelle over 20 years ago in Vermont where he was performing his magic in supper clubs, restaurants, and private venues. Whenever I saw his act, I would be so entranced by his artistry that for the next few weeks I would be telling friends near and far about this extraordinary magician.
I recently had the pleasure of seeing Bill again, this time in New York City. He has undergone a personal and professional transformation. Bill has long held the belief that his sleight-of-hand magic, as enthralling as it is to the beholder, has much deeper value if it is understood as a metaphor. Magic can teach us about the art of transformation. Bill is more than a talented magician; he is a gifted teacher. He has come to recognize that his life’s purpose is to do more than entertain; he wants to use magic to offer lessons to people about how our fixed beliefs shape our perceptions, which create our reality. Perhaps more subtle than his sleight-of-hand are the suggestions implicit in his magic act that it is possible for people to change themselves simply by shifting their perceptions of themselves and others’ perceptions of them. To evolve from entertainer to teacher, Bill has had to undergo his own transformation. He has had to leave the security of his supper club act and to literally move out onto the streets, to find the audience he really wants to reach.
So, now when I meet Bill, I see the man, who is recognized on the streets of New York as THE MAGIC SAMARITAN, performing his magic for free to one and all. If there are some profound lessons that Bill hopes some of his audience will ultimately come away with, first comes the fun.
I accompanied Bill on Labor Day weekend on one of his routine sojourns– through the Upper West Side, Central Park, and Harlem. I had a video camera to record what I witnessed, and I am glad I did, for sometimes I did not believe my eyes.
On this beautiful sunny day, Bill would approach one or two people, sometimes three, or a small group, introduce himself as The Magic Samaritan, and ask if anyone would like to have some free magic. First comes the suspicion wrestling with curiosity: Magic? Free? Who is this guy? After one trick, curiosity has the upper hand. After two tricks, loud laughter and applause. Now, Bill, can’t get away even if he wants to. “Show us more!” After three or four tricks, a crowd has gathered. In Harlem, where there were a lot of people out enjoying the day, 50 or more people would be crowding around to watch this magician up close, to see if they could figure out how this man was doing his “magic.”
This scenario repeated itself all day long. I have never been so totally immersed in so much laughter, conviviality, fun and sheer joy. So many spontaneous friendships made, each crowd uniting in the unadulterated joy of the moment, one collective voice saying to The Magic Samaritan as he departed, “You come back again!”
We’ve all seen crowds gather to see the aftermath of an accident, to come together in anger, or for a cause, or a sporting event, or to see a celebrity, but when have we seen people come together just to participate in joy for joy’s sake? This was real magic… and I’m sure with subsequent visits The Magic Samaritan will also help people to come away with some deeper understanding and appreciation of the wonder-full human capacities that we all share.
The Boothby Institute has been encouraging the work of Bill Brunelle, The Magic Samaritan. Contributions may be made directed to his use to The Boothby Institute.
Learn more at Bill’s website and on a YouTube presentation:
