Touch

"Many people are alive but don't touch the miracle of being alive." 

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, lecturer, poet

Our path begins at life, our journey, begins with a single touch.  For most of us it will be in the gentle touch of our mother, for others in the kindness shown by a stranger.  Is it the simple act of reaching out to something or someone?  Is it about how we reach out and the emotion we put into the act?  Is it how we interpret touching?  I think one thing is certain, we are all "touched" in one way or another; we can only hope it is for the better.

I was impressed by a Catholic priest, recently, who came to the medical center for a "Blessing of the Hands" of the medical staff and volunteers.  He was all of five foot nothing with the thick African accent of his homeland.  I am not big on Catholic priests, an unfortunate opinion formed from a couple of years in Catholic grade school, Catechism, and catching the tail end of the Latin language in Mass.  You haven't experience Mass as a Catholic until you have to sit through the long, boring ceremony listening to it from an older than Christ priest speaking in Latin with a heavy Irish brogue.  Just shoot me now.

“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.”

-- Vera Nazarian, author

This priest, however, was something different.  This small man had a toothy smile which lit up the hospital foyer as he entered.  He shook my hand with both of his, and made everyone he touched feel special... just for being alive.  The emotion he displayed when speaking about doctors, nurses, and the volunteers was palpable.  Yes, it was his persona, but it was also his touch.  It was as if his small frame was charged with a palpable, spiritual calm; a subtle, peaceful energy of love for mankind I have never had the joy of experiencing before.  If this was a representative of Christ on earth, I can only imagine the aura of Christ Himself.  How absolutely marvelous this must have been.

The great lecturer, and academician, Dr. Leo Buscaglia, was capable of making one feel love and life through his energetic presentations.  He would wear me out just watching him speak, and does so today, years after his death, as I continue to enjoy his many lectures online.  Perspiring from the intensity of his lecture, he was constantly wiping his brow and face with a handkerchief.  I was so riveted by his lecture I would find myself having to wipe my own brow and eyes, as if listening had become an energetic activity and I was trying to keep up.  His was a proof that words also have the ability to touch others.  It was proof that, for many of us, you can truly have faith in something you cannot feel or touch.  Leo had the gift, the ability to reach inside of us and flick on that switch so many of us could not see.  

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

-- Leo Buscaglia

How do we "touch the miracle of being alive" or, if we even know, explain it to others?  I think the concept would be like explaining why we lie to people who know concept of anything other than truth, or trying to explain God when we have never been in the presence of God.  I think the Buddhists touch on it when they try to explain the Tao:

Within the context of traditional Chinese philosophy and religion, the Tao is the intuitive knowing of "life" that cannot be grasped full-heartedly as just a concept but is known nonetheless through actual living experience of one's everyday being.

Laozi in the Tao Te Ching explains that the Tao is not a 'name' for a 'thing' but the underlying natural order of the Universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe due to it being non conceptual yet evident' in one's being of aliveness. The Tao is "eternally nameless” and to be distinguished from the countless 'named' things which are considered to be its manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it.

-- Wikipedia, "Tao"

Even in their own philosophy they fully admit explaining the Tao is an exercise in describing the indescribable, and even if it could be done you would have not described it.  As Christians we learn, like the Taoist we must be "free of desire" in order to observe the wonders of God, because if we are full of desire we will only see the manifestations of those wonders.  I see this as why many Christians focus so much on the word of scripture instead of the spirit which manifested it.  I think there comes a point when we cross the fine line between looking upon the Bible as Holy Scripture, or as idolatry on par with God.

The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao

The name that can be named is not the eternal name

The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth

The named is the mother of myriad things 

Thus, constantly free of desire

One observes its wonders

Constantly filled with desire

One observes its manifestations 

These two emerge together but differ in name

The unity is said to be the mystery

Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders

-- Laozi (??? - 531 BC), "Tao Te Ching"

 As humans we live for the touch of other humans.  Barring that, we live for the touch of another living creature.  Even a loner appreciates the occasional time with others, even if those others are creatures of the woodland.  Our lives revolve around touch, or being touched, whether it is physically or mentally.  We can be touched by what we hear as well as what we see, and can touch others by what we say and what we do.  As spiritual beings we overcome our fears through faith, and our desire to stand back by our overwhelming need to help our neighbor.  It is who we are; touching, hands on, a part of God's creation.  To be anything else would weigh heavily on our conscience, no matter our excuse.  

I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.

-- Mother Teresa

We exist, and by existing we touch, and by touching we become, for better or worse, a part of what was, is now, and what will be.

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.

-- Leonardo da Vinci

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.