The Space Between
I felt the glow of divinity this morning as I scrubbed my son’s ankles and toes, as I ran the washcloth along his arms, over his back, his chest, and belly. I sang Hebrew verses and Sanskrit chants, as I shaved his stubbled cheeks and brushed his crooked teeth. Some mornings it’s all rote—this showering, shaving and brushing of teeth routine. But others, like today, it flows like praying, like acts of honoring the divine.
What’s different today? It is the simple act of being truly present to the task at hand. Not being lost in thought. Not planning, judging, or being anywhere other than with my son. When I am fully present, I watch my hands perform these simple acts of caring for another human. And deep gratitude arises. Despite the challenges of living this life, I am aware of the privilege of experiencing selfless service.
These simple, mundane tasks of caring for my son can be at one moment a bane, and at another, a doorway to divine expressions of compassion and care. At these times, I am enveloped in a feeling of aliveness that expands beyond the me that is performing the actions. This is as close to a feeling of oneness that I’ve ever experienced off the meditation cushion. There’s still me. There’s still my son and the movements of one person caring for another. Yet it’s all in harmony. It’s so beautiful, the relationship between us two. It’s in this relationship, the ‘we space,’ the space between the two of us, where the aliveness is found.
I’ve heard it said that God exists in the space between things. Of course, God is the things too, but as I care for my son’s body, I feel God most in the space between.