You know me!

Visiting a local nursing home facility yesterday, I smiled at one of the residents, greeted her and touched her shoulder gently.  She looked up at me and smiled in return saying, ‘You know me!’

It was not a question being asked of me, but rather a point of acknowledgment and acceptance.  I gazed at her with a level of love that I felt flowing out of me toward her and said, ‘Yes, I know you.’

What an amazing grace-filled moment it was.  All of us long to be known, to be seen, to be heard, to be accepted, to be encountered at a depth of Oneness.  More often than not, all it takes is a moment of conscious presence, a touch of grace.

I thought back to a group of women who gathered monthly for contemplation.  We did not know each person’s name the whole year that we met  We didn’t know where they were born, what they did or why they did it.  But in that circle enfolded in silence we knew one another beyond words or images.  We touched each other in the diversity of contemplative experiences.  We knew and were known throughout all the years we gathered.  And today, we continue to know the Oneness we call God and in that knowing we find each other.

As yesterday continued to unfold, I found myself known by the men who rotate my tires.  I was recognized by the wait-staff in my often frequented restaurant and I was embraced by the people who know me at church.

In each of these experiences I became aware of the truth that each encounter has meaning.  When we step into the encounter with a receptivity we are made one with all that is and with all who make up all that is.

‘You know me’ comes in so many shapes and encounters.  May you find yourself known and touched by love this month.