A beautiful lesson has come to me this week. Two events but a few days apart fitting like pieces of a soul puzzle. I want to start off by saying that each of us is bigger and more important than we think we are. Not in some grandiose ego-driven way, but that our intentions, thoughts, and actions toward the world can have a deep presence. We rarely get a glimpse of the impact we have on others and seldom do we think about the growth in our lives cultivated by others. The smallest of seeds can sprout into the grandest of trees.
So a few days ago I stumbled upon an old client of mine in a store. For much of my career I was an addictions therapist and this young man had been a client. Certainly not an easy one! More than once my job had been to arrange a detoxification placement for him. I worked with him on and off for approximately 4 years. It has been over 3 years since I last saw him, and I actually failed to recognize him. He was healthy, in school, and bought a home. He took the time to thank me for the role I had played in his recovery and he felt he would not be where he was had he not been in treatment. I am always curious to know what it was about therapy that brought about changes in the lives of clients, so I asked him what he thought had been the key for him in the time we had worked together. What he said completely surprised me! It wasn’t his inpatient tours. It wasn’t medication. It wasn’t any “brilliant” therapeutic intervention on my part. It was something I considered unimportant.
The last time the young man had needed detoxification placement he was in a bad way. Nauseous, tearful, had not eaten in days. He told me the story of how I had taken him out of the rather uncomfortable waiting room and put him in an unused office where he did not feel like he was on display. He had chills. I had brought him the sweatshirt and blanket I kept in my office. I placed a radio in the office too. At lunchtime I brought him food and water. I had forgotten all of this, recalling the fight with his insurance company instead. He felt in that moment like he mattered and he said this had been his turning point because it had been a long time since anyone had treated him his way.
Just today I learned that a dear friend and fellow artist had passed away. Kim Collins Fillio was one of those rare people who always uplifted. She was one of those gifted artists who seemed to have an endless well of creativity. When I first began to sculpt in 2005, I clearly was not very good. I had the fortune of meeting Kim on line and being invited to join a closed Ebay chat group called Through the Looking Glass. Those ladies (and gent) really shaped me as an artist. Kim especially would always find the aspect of my work that was good and right and she would say such powerfully encouraging things. Without her I would likely have quit long ago and how different my life would be. I would not be making my living with my art. It was my art that led me into my spiritual work and firewalking, so I would not be a firewalk instructor.
So I heard the lesson from both sides this week. My former client is leading a happy, productive life because of a moment of simple compassion. I am living my own heartsong in large part because of Kim’s ability to see potential in my work and her joyful gentleness. Such small moments amplified into such profound change. I believe we are always in this weave of giving and receiving small gifts. My gift this week was to become more mindful of them so that I can more deliberately sow seeds of compassion and encouragement.
