The Best That Can Be

For me, the most uplifiting events of the last couple of weeks have not been the Olympic Games. Spectacular as they were what reached my heart was the people of Stockport's spontaneous clean up after the riots, and the peaceful marches nationwide which stopped the bullies in their tracks.  

 

Such events as these become newsworthy because of their scale but little miracles of kindness happen every day - by the millions.

If we follow the news media we will be fooled into thinking we live in a world that is a continual playing of 'East Enders'.  The world's not like that – observably it's not. Most people are doing good to most other people most of the time. We should constantly remind ourselves of this.  2500 years ago Lau Tzu observed that 'Serenity and peace is the norm of the world.'  That's quite a contrast to Tennyson's world, 'Bloody in tooth and claw'.  As the ancient sage pointed out, wars cease, most sicknesses heal and, in our time, though there is much to be done, billions of people's lives have been improved.

It is also observable that life always seeks the best that can be. 4.5 billion years of evolution surely proves this. And this principle is demonstrated by the observable fact that it is the nature of nature to nurture. Every living thing is nurtured towards the best it can be, sometime despite dire limitations. For life does not impose itself by force of will but enables the best that can be by allurement.  The root of the word nurture comes Sanskrit and is related to breastfeeding. Nurture is love. I therefore conclude that the principle of life is love.

These are my observations especially over the last 15 years of living with cancer. My body has continuously sought the best that can be. That is the nature of every quantum particle, every atom, every molecule of every cell in my body. In doing what I can to provide my body with what it needs to enable the nurture of nature to do its work, I'm keeping out of the way rather than trying to impose my will to obtain a specific result.  My body knows what to do and I trust it to do what it can, in the best way it can. 

My mind is at rest. I have no idea as to whether I will die with my disease or of my disease. I would like it to be the former but I'm prepared to suffer what I must. Nurture is not just of my body but of life itself and I am surrounded by many sources of nurture, all there to support me.

So may we be aware that we are surrounded by love and that the nurture of life that will always seek the best that can be. May we give our full trust and cooperation to life.