"I know, David, I know..."

"Cold, Cold water
Surrounds me now
And all Ive got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or, am I lost?..."
- Damien Rice

I wrote about this film and how it spoke to me about the impact of kindness, in a post titled, "Lord can you hear me know...or am I lost?" from last summer, and at the time this video clip from the film was not available...but now it is. In watching it today, and listening to Damien Rice's hauntingly beautiful song, I felt myself virtually collapsing into the arms of God, my Mother, Love.

That feeling of being completely lost seems so aggressive today.  I know it. I have expereinced it myself.  But the feeling of wandering aimlessly through your days just trying to survive without hope of really belonging anywhere...or to anyone...is not true -- for you, or for me, or for anyone.  As pervasive as this feeling may seem to be, each moment when we get up, and take the next step forward...even if it seems to only be with a blind trust that there must be something greater than ourselves drawing us out of darkness and loneliness...we are taking a step towards our divine Mother's arms.

I hope this clip makes you weep with relief.  I hope you take a moment to allow yourself to be known for who you are in Her arms.  To be recognized by a Mother who never lost sight of you.  Who will always open Her arms for you, gather you close and say, Yes, I know...I know...

with all my love and hope today,
Kate
Kate Robertson, CS

"Lord, can you hear me now...or am I lost?"

"Cold, cold water surrounds me now
And all I've got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or am I lost?"
-     Damien Rice (from the film "I am David")

I recently had the rare privilege of watching a remarkable film about the power of love, kindness, and hope in the human heart.

"I am David" is memorable, not only for the indomitable spirit of this young boy on an impossible journey out of the horrors of a post-WWII prison camp, but for the instances of kindness that propel him forward.  Small moments of humanity which, like the soft fingers of flagella, move him through the cold dark waters of fear and doubt, towards the light of love.

Without giving too much away and ruining it for you, there is a scene where young David tries to fit into the landscape of human normalcy in order to avoid being returned to interment.  The voice of his mentor reminds him to assimilate. When a well-meaning baker is suspicious of his presence in the village because the boy doesn't smile, David realizes that smiling is something he needs to learn to do.  His early attempts to create a smile result in a distorted grimace, a forced expression which, when tried out on another unsuspecting merchant, undermines his desire to fit in to the social landscape and go unnoticed. 

Although he generally tries to stay hidden from others while making his pilgrimage, his inherent humanity surfaces and he finds himself rushing to the aid of a young girl in need.

Later, in the presence of her gratitude and sympathy for injuries he sustained during her his heroic rescue, David discovers how natural a smile is.  Her kindness has the irresistible effect on his face of creating what all of his desperate trying could not form....a simple, sweet smile.

It wasn't a manipulation of physiology, psychotropic medications, excited hormones, the production of pheromones, calming serotonin, plastic surgery or psychotherapy that produced a smile.  It was the presence of kindness…the flow of gratitude.

A smile - the expression of beauty, the outward manifestation of joy - is irrepressible, undeniable, imperative.  It springs from a place so primitively spiritual and eternal that we mistake it for physiological reaction.  But it is not a reaction, but the very action of divinity in humanity, the outpouring radiance of Soul in the presence of Love…operating in, and on, the human heart.  This radiance can't help but shine in all its beatific loveliness from the face of any child of God.  

David discovers his smile. He doesn't have to create it or learn how to do it. It just is. From under the debris of hatred and the rubble of cruelty his beautiful smile springs forth at the first warm touch of Love's radiant love.

How many smiles will spring forth at the warm touch of your kindness, gratitude and love today?
Kate