"Depending on the circumstance, you should be hard as diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth flowing like water or as empty as space."
Morihei Ueshiba
Yesterday, I accompanied one of our monks to the hospital where he is beginning a lengthy process of donating stem cells to his sick brother. The procedure seems to be a last ditch effort to save (perhaps only extend) his sibling. In any hospital, there is always waiting involved and our visit was no exception. As we waited in silence punctuated by desperate efforts to find some levity somewhere, we observed a parade of desperately ill adults, teen agers and children, I presume all hoping for basically the same miracle of healthy bone marrow. Oddly enough, there was very little panic or sadness in the air. They all seemed caught up in a routine that was much like any other ordinary part of life. I can only guess they were used to these procedures and found them a necessary part of their schedule. The caregivers had an equally dispassionate attitude probably the result of having left their terror behind or just plain exhausted by it and having no more room for doubt in their minds and hearts. What I felt most was a sense of heroism on the part of those who were donating as well as those who were doing the fighting. Heroic too are those who spend hours of their lives driving the patients to the hospital, sitting right beside them, jumping up at the least whimper to get them whatever they wanted...helping them to keep from jumping off ledges or just breaking down in tears. As I watched all this I asked myself if I would ever be ready to face a challenge like this. Would I have this level of dignity, grace, patience and faith? Moments like the ones they face could be just around the corner for any of us. I know that sounds fatalistic but the body for all its majesty and complexity is also very fragile. One enzyme out of place can mean months of therapy. So I appeal to myself to take Ueshiba's words seriously - be ready to assume the necessary softness or hardness that these or any of life's problems present be they of the body or the spirit. The more we can adapt, the more likely we will to show the same courage I found in that hospital.
