All of which almost leads me to the here and now of typing this while safe within a 5th story loft, located in the East Village's Art Center, known as the Prosperity Hive - Shakti Popovich's and my living model of sustainable business and livelihood. The Hive, as we like to call it, is a dance and yoga studio as well as a community center. It is a space for "Whole Be-ing Sustainability," and we love every ounce of it - even the painful turbulence that comes with change and growth. Shakti is the yogi and she loves to espouse her yogic philosophy, which brings me full circle and back around to Service.
Service is a key element to Be-ing, especially in these trying, 21st century times. Only recently, have I deepened into offering my dance as Service. And, I have to partially credit Santiago for this. It all began with our friendship and a letter he received from a man he met at a local grocery store. As many of you may know, I love to play the role of the avid documentarian. Film allows me the opportunity to share my story - which I like to believe is our story - with a wider, global audience. Film also offers deeper insight into one's practice and into the very nature of this being human, now. However, I do believe that it is the moments that go uncaptured that forever leave their searing marks on our beings. What I am about to tell I only have written documentation of - which is why I am also a writer. Sometimes, there are moments in life that are so delectable I just want to be able to hold them in the palm of my hand, again and again. So, I write them down. Yes, as much as I preach the notion of "Love as Letting Go," obviously it is hard for me to do so (let go of the past, that is).
So, Santiago was invited in to an HIV Support Home in Hillcrest for a tour and to give a private concert for a group of HIV-infected women. I was humbled and honored to join in on this morning. Our tour guide was a man who credits HIV for giving him back his life. He had wasted too many years seeking solace in the bottom of a beer bottle as a means of escaping the shame of his own homophobia even as he engaged in unprotected, homosexual behavior at a local bathhouse. That day, Santiago strummed the chords on his beloved guitar as a group of undocumented women (here in San Diego, HIV is on the rise in this demographic - as it is always the most vulnerable who are at the highest risk) sat smiling and enjoying the intimate experience. As Santi began to sing the lyrics to "La Primavera," I once again found myself on my feet, swaying to the beat and motioning for the most gregarious of the women to join me in the dance and on the floor. Together, we danced in miraculous time and through divine space as my BodyMind and SoulSpirit sang out, "YES! This is it."
Since then, we have "performed" for the blind, the differently-abled and those whose mental capacities are far beyond anything I have ever been exposed to before. Yes, we have even brought the guitar and its sweet melodies to my senior friends found on Park Boulevard. This past weekend, I found myself alone and gathering an assembled crowd who had come together to raise funds for a local woman who was born with Cystic Fibrosis and, as a result, now direly needs a lung transplant. Listening to her husband talk about his own similar experiences, for they had met at Cystic Fibrosis camp where they both had served as counselors, and how the loss of functioning lung nodes leads to a severe contraction of the ribcage as well as an inability to breathe deeply, I was once again reminded of how fortunate I am for each and every single deep breath I take. I was once again reminded that I no longer want to waste another moment. I was once again reminded that I owe it to the world to show up fully - without hesitation and without fear. I was once again reminded that I don't want to wait for catastrophe to happen, that I don't want another martyr to have to be sacrificed (as was the case in Iran with their beloved Neda) before I wake up, damn it! I was once again reminded that I don't want to have to wake up everyday stroking my skin and thanking AIDS for bringing me to my senses. I was once again reminded to try and remind you. Please, know I love YOU and that I what I want most for YOU is for YOU to LOVE YOU too.
