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It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and exhausted in our busy lives, and so hard to get past the stress of worrying. If only we could get – every day – to that perfect sense of “flow,” where things just seem to happen, you’re engaged in the moment, not worried or distracted!
When I was first starting out as a Patient Care Technician working at a local hospital, I would be so nervous before work. I really didn’t think that I could get through the day! I had anywhere between eight and ten patients to take care of and nurses to work with, and the family of patients to console. Before I started working at the hospital, I really hadn’t seen human suffering, and I didn’t feel up to the task of alleviating that suffering.
So much to do, so intimidating and exhausting!
What I ended up doing was – while driving to work – I’d listen to the voice of my friend Roya, a recording of her singing the beautiful Baha’i Prayer that says “Oh Lord, make me a hollow reed from which the pith of self hath been blown, that I may become a clear channel through which Thy love may flow unto others.” It made me relax. I felt empowered, that I could get through the day. I could be a hollow reed.
It surprised me that letting go of self could be such a powerful thing!
The Prayer itself is the path for letting go. First, as prayer says, we need to remember that God’s love is there, waiting to flow to everyone we work with, help, or serve. Second, we need to remember that God’s love can flow to these people all around us through us, we can be the reed. And finally, we need to invoke God’s assistance in blowing out the pith of self, hollowing out the reed. For me, this happens through beauty of Roya’s singing, through prayer… self disappears into the background and all that’s left is God’s love, flowing to others.
I can’t say that I’m successful at this everyday when I go to work, and some days I have to laugh – because on the days I don’t put this into practice are the hard ones. On those days I’m thinking how tired I am or how difficult the work is. But at the end of the day, I reflect on why my day went badly. It’s always because I was full of myself!
I’ve seen people sense the power of letting go of self, and put this into practice in different types of work. Some times at a restaurant or grocery store I’ll see God’s light shine through these people, and it makes my day! Imagine a world where everyone – with family, friends, co-workers, customers, and patients – was a hollow reed!
Editor's Note: Roya's collected music is posted online at https://soundcloud.com/roya-bauman
Photo courtesy Bahai.us