in an eagle’s eye ~mark nepo

The vastness of this endless sky
is reflected in the corner of an eagle’s eye.
In just this way, the heart
when lifted up, reflects the Universe.

As the moon bring sun to those turned from the light, the opened heart brings love to those struggling through darkness. It is important to remember here that the moon is not the source of light but a reflection; and likewise, as magnificent as the heart is, it is not the source of love, but a conveyer of forces often out of view when we are struggling.

I have come to realize that the people I’ve admired throughout my life, the ones I’ve tried to emulate, were all like the moon appearing in the night, and though I secretly wanted to be like these wonderful people, it was their openness that allowed them to shine in the middle of my darkness, an openness I didn’t need to copy or envy, just uncover in myself.

I think of my grandmother, whose huge immigrant warmth enabled me to see myself, the way a full moon lets you see your hands in the dark. And there was the one teacher with the golden eye who held truth in the air before our confused young egos, and somehow it relaxed me into finding what really matters. And there was the seventy-year-old priest who led my wellness group, so genuine in his love that his heart reflected everything with equal detail and compassion: our pain and grace, our fear and hope, our confusion and certainty.

All this to somehow say that to care is to rise above things without leaving them. When we care, we receive the truth that lives beneath words, and the sense of what is too much to say then reflects off our hearts, soothing those around us.

~Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening