Other People Are Beautiful
Other People Are Beautiful
As of writing this, I've been away at a training in LA for the last week with friends and new friends and all the people who live near the beach where I was staying.
Travel in general is so lovely for getting out of your usual habits, be they habits of thought, physical habits, or even habits of eating. Habits in which we see the world and others. Habits in which we see ourselves a certain way.
As I took off from the Toronto airport, the tarmac fell away and we lifted up over the city and then Lake Ontario. I felt the higher we went, the fewer habits of being and thought I was carrying. They fell away to gently sink into the waves and the depths of the lake.
I felt deep peace rise up and descend over me at the same time. Everybody on the plane appeared beautiful, their souls shining out of their eyes.
I had a wonderful conversation with the grandmotherly woman next to me, who, it turns out, grew up in Ottawa, near where I grew up, when her diplomat father was transferred there from India. She lit up and so did I, sharing our enjoyment of places and experiences in Ottawa. She now lives with her husband in Laguna Beach, CA.
While in LA, I kept having beautiful conversations with people I met at coffee shops, on the beach, in the parking lot by the beach, on the pier, the corner store and everywhere. It seemed to me that every person in LA was wonderfully at peace and living with such joy and delight.
I met the most wonderful man from Mexico who made me a hamburger (Thomas's Hamburgers) and it was the best hamburger I'd had in a while. It really was good. And it tasted amazing while watching the surfers on the beach.
I became a "trusted to watch the dogs" person at the local Venice coffee shop (Cow's End Coffee) and had "the usual" waiting for me as soon as I got up to the front of the line.
I had a wonderful time buying potato chips and wine at Alan's Market. I'm not sure if I met Alan, but the guy behind the counter was great!
I took a surf lesson and had the most fun I've had doing something new in a long time. Turns out I have the right balance for surfing and did really well! My teacher, Julia (Fun Surf LA), was fantastic, fun, and very lighthearted. She was groovin' on the flow of life. Perfect for learning to ride the waves.
A homeless man named James approached me in the beach parking lot and asked me if I knew of ways he could communicate with others better and not let himself be drawn into violent situations. What?!? I felt like I was in a movie. He went on to tell me that he could see that people were all made of love deep down, but he didn't come off well and was lonely. How do I make connections with people? Apparently, I looked like someone who knew. We had a lovely conversation. He came up with some great ideas on his own and went off beaming, telling me I should come visit him more often.
Life and other people are beautiful.
I was surprised to hear another person in our group who was staying near the beach also describe the neighbourhood very negatively. Nobody is friendly. Nobody talks to each other. Nothing to do. No activities. Rough unsavoury types and (oh!no!) belligerent homeless people.
I realised it had nothing to do with the actual neighbourhood and everything to do with who I was showing up as. Just me. A bright soul interested in hanging out with others. That is what I found.
The other person was grumpy and looking for others to be good enough for his unconscious judgments. And that is what he found.
Without my habits of being and thought (the ones that fell into Lake Ontario), I was just me. When we are just ourselves, we are in touch with our deeper essence, our soul, if you will. And the soul of others shines out everywhere for us to see. If we speak to the world from our soul, the soul of the world speaks back to us.
Experiment for this week:
Consider who you are without your habitual ideas or judgments about others around you. Is it possible to see through to the soul shining out through their eyes? Who are they without your filters of thought, what you know about them, past interactions, etc.? Look for the beauty in each moment and notice what you see.
Much Love,
Sara Joy
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