Where to Now?

I define humanistic values as those that are sourced from one's "inner self." That "space" within each of us that propels us to do what is ethically and morally supportive of the well-being of others. One of the most important humanistic values is love.

I define love as an unconditional acceptance of another, exactly asd she or he is--without the necessity to fit our expectations of how she or he should be. I had a very close friend who lived in Hawaii. She was very spiritual. Rarely have I encountered anyone with such an openness to see the value and good in others.

She unquestionably had great depth in terms of wisdom--an understanding, empathy, and compassion for the human experience. She had been fighting bouts of cancer for some years--all of which were contained or went into remission. Then, she contracted intestinal cancer. A very aggressive and deadly form. Most of her family and close friends were very, very frustrated (and even angry) when she refused to have surgery.

She declared that her ability to dissolve the cancerous growth through self-applied energy healing was the transformation she required to be prepared to spread the message of peace to planet Earth. What is love when faced with such a situation as a relative or loved one? Is it the unconditional acceptance of her decision? If so, frustration and anger are reflections of, at best, "conditional acceptance."

On the other hand, no one wants to lose a loved one who brought such joy to their lives. We all desperately want to hold on to her, even if she refuses to be "saved."

Well, ultimately she had surgery. It was, however, too late. She died. I was, and still am, devasted by her death. I am also aware that my present devastation is an incompletion within myself. Everytime I fly into Honolulu, I say a quiet prayer in her behalf. For I still feel her presence. Sometimes with greater force in death, than when she was alive--where I took for granted she would always be here!

What I did learn from her death is what it is to be unconditionally committed to another human being--in whatever way he or she chooses to create his or her reality.

I'm interested in your opinion of how you would have dealt with a situation like my friend, if she were a relative or loved one of yours.

The third audio chapter of Rodney this Wednesday!