Compassion Soars

While driving home from the Dharma Center the other day, I listened to a radio program about a challenging situation faced by a sister caring for her deaf and blind brother. The brother’s condition was a result of an operation to remove a brain tumor, and he now required hospice care. His sister and mother were aware that he had always desired to live independently in his own apartment, even if it meant residing in an assisted living facility. 

When he entered hospice care, his mother and sister informed him that they had relocated him to his own apartment within an assisted living facility. Since he was visually and audibly impaired, he mentally saw this new situation as fulfilling his wish, and it brought him great  joy until his passing. On the surface, it appeared as though they had deceived him. However, it was the most compassionate decision to make, considering the circumstances. I notice this is how love flows: it flies free of convention to be of greatest benefit. 

As the radio story came to an end, I drove over a bridge near my house. Traffic stopped. And in that moment, a hawk flew over my truck. (It was probably a Cooper’s hawk by its markings.) It circled around and again passed overhead, uncharacteristically low for a traffic situation. It seemed to say, “This is how love flies. I’ve been telling you over and over…” 

The hawk, dancing gracefully in the sky, echoed the radio story like a dakini in avian disguise. It seemed to be pointing out how compassion transcends conventional boundaries. Love, like the wind, whirls about and blesses each situation with unlimited and unpredictable blessings.