Today: The importance of being together.

Earlier this fall I responded to a request seeking a visit at a local university during final exams, from our therapy dog organization.  I put the date on my calendar and all but forgot about it.  When the date (Saturday) rolled around, I didn’t want to leave the house.  I wanted to stay inside, thinking and praying and holding on to those I love.  Like everyone, surely, my heart just feels broken.  In seemingly hopeless times, though, I suppose hiding accomplishes very little.  I packed up my little monster and his therapy dog vest (I left his BC blanket at home), and headed to Boston University’s Mugar Library.

In the old days, when hockey rivalries mattered, I would have giggled at the fact that Clark chose to pee directly on the lawn in front of a bright red BU sign.  Having matured (slightly), I looked around sheepishly and hoped we weren’t late. As we entered the school’s library, and students came rushing to see Clark, I felt like we were getting a time out from the world.  I spent a little over an hour sitting cross-legged on a carpet floor while Clark curled up with groups of four or five students at a time.  I chatted with the students about exams, homesickness, and the holidays. All the while, Clark purred and pawed and pranced.

I am not sure how much good we actually accomplished (though I sort of wish we had rooms of puppies to play with when I was in school), but I know exactly how much good I received by being there: a lot.   I was reminded of the power of connectivity, and how important it is to be together (even if it’s just for fifteen minutes, with veritable strangers) when our world feels so fractured.

To quote His Holiness, the Dalai Lama (he says things so much better than I ever could, obvi),

Love and compassion are not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive.

I was reminded of this again this morning during a nearly two hour (yes, really…) yoga class.  My friend Elizabeth and I took a little day trip to Salem and stopped at Green Tea Yoga for a whole lot of om.

Throughout the class, Maggie – our instructor and the studio’s owner – reinforced that we are all loving presences in the world, and that we are bound to take care of one another.  Her thoughtful comments and affirmations made our heart-opening poses all the more… welp… heart-opening.

While I will never begin to understand why or how unbearable tragedies such as Friday’s happen, I know that we are so, so, so fortunate to have one another.  And we must be good to each other.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Getting my act together for the week
• On letting go of detrimental habits from MindBodyGreen
• Everyone can use a hug 

What is your favorite way to volunteer?