Tuesday, June 19, 2012

"The Little Prince" in My Life


Today, I’d like to introduce you to Lon. I met him in 1988 when he’d been HIV-positive for a year; two years later he died from the complications of AIDS.

I cannot share with you what we spoke about in the examination room each week. The truth is that now—nearly twenty-two years after his death—I don’t remember the words. I do remember the spirit of the man I met. I wrote about that spirit in 1993, three years after his death.
At that time, I was trying to use the deleted sections of Dulcy’s book A Cat’s Life: Dulcy’s Story to create a companion book. I had the idea to change the sections into twelve habits  Dulcy would share with other cats. Then the idea came to accompany her habits with accounts of how the habits had influenced my life.
For the sixth habit, Dulcy ended her advice to cats with the following words: “When you follow Habit 6 and listen with an open heart, you touch the deep goodness of the one you love.”
Those words inspired me to write about how Lon affected my life. Here are the words with which I eulogized him in Twelve Habits of Highly Successful Cats & Their Humans. Note that I used the name Liam here instead of Lon.

In Saint-Exupery’s classic book The Little Prince, the fox tells his friend, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Only with the heart can one listen rightly too.


Like the little prince, I have had a fox teach me to listen with my heart. That fox was a young man who had lived with AIDS for three years. As he grew old with the disease, Liam began to think long thoughts, to find the hidden depths within himself. He began to cherish silence and solitude.
When we talked, he shared his journey through the squalls of the illness, the deserts of the despair, the forests of new growth. His thoughts seemed to come from deep wellsprings within himself, and the water from these hidden resources gave me new life.
Slowly, but surely, I began to listen to him with both my mind and my heart, to listen to the feelings and dreams and meanings behind his words. I opened my heart to receive these last gifts from my friend. He would soon be gone, and I wanted to remember more than his death. I wanted to embrace the joy of his life. Each story became his legacy to me. Did he laugh? I laughed too. Did he cry? I did too. Did he rave against the darkness of the night? I, too, raved.
I listened with an open heart, and I found the uniqueness of my friend. I learned his heartwish. Not because he told me, but because I watched him live it. I listened to what his actions said. And when I told him he was teaching me to listen with an open heart, my friend said, “You already know how to listen, Dee. Dulcy taught you.”
And he was right. I could listen with my heart because again and again, when days have been dismal and depressing, Dulcy has laid her round, plump body against my chest—her ears perked, her whiskers stiff, her eyes deep pools of love—and waited for my voice.
With my hand resting gently on her back, she has stroked my cheek with a soft paw and purred love. In those moments, I am the love who gives meaning to her life. She hears the deep silences within me.
And from my dear friend, I learned this silence—the silence that enables us to listen with our heart. What is important to Dulcy is invisible to the eye.

On Saturday I will share with you one thing that Lon did say to me. His words changed my life. I do not think I will be betraying his trust. For me these words are his legacy.
                                                                                                                       

41 comments:

  1. Such a moving and poetical post, Dee. I feel such soft and quiet emotion that comes from your heart that is like the sweet breath from God...

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    1. Dear Broad, thank you. That same sort of "sweet breath from God" was also in Lon. I remember talking to him in the back hall once and felt that. I'll relate what he said to me there in my Saturday posting. Peace.

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  2. When I read that part of the book, I was very moved, as I am again today. It's a beautiful story, and he's still part of you and your life, and now part of mine. Thank you.

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    1. Dear DJan, yes, that for me is the wonder of Oneness. That each of us is joined by that which connects us one to the other. Peace.

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  3. Dee, this was beautiful and full of wisdom. Listening with the heart is a skill which can a lifetime to learn.

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    1. Dear Kate, I think you're so right. Listening is a true art form and like all art it must be practiced over and over from simple sketch to complete painting! Peace.

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  4. Well, The Broad said it all above.

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    1. Dear Inger, thank you. Please look at my response to her comment above. Peace.

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  5. This excerpt makes me even more eager to read the book. It's next in the pile. I'll probably start it tonight or tomorrow.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Dear Janie, I do so hope you like Dulcy's companion book. And I look forward to hearing from you about it. Peace.

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  6. I just arrived home from the eye doctor, Dee, my eyes all dilated and moist, and here I read your moving words and now I'm moved to tears. Real tears.

    It is good to remember to take the time to listen and to be still in it. There are times, for me, during turmoil or crisis, I purposefully say "still my heart, Lord".

    I can only imagine the peace and love the Lon/Liam felt in being able to speak and be heard by you.

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    1. Dear Penny, yes, "still my heart, Infinite Spirit of Oneness" so that I may listen to the words and feelings and emotions behind the words that are behind the words. Peace.

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  7. What a good friend--well, both of you were to each other. :)
    Looking forward to the next post, Dee.

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    1. Dear Rita, yes he was a dear, sweet man and a wonderful friend. Peace.

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  8. And nw he lives on in all of us, too. Beautiful.

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    1. Dear Shelly, yes, he and I and you, too, are united in Oneness. Peace.

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  9. I think he was right my friend. You listen with your heart to everyone. It is one of the things that makes you so special to so many people. I'm blessed to call you friend.

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    1. Dear Melynda, the listening is a gift we give to one another I think. I suspect you totally agree. Peace.

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  10. Thank you, Dee, for these postings about the work you did with Lon and others. I'm grateful that your life, including your time with Dulcy, prepared you to give all you could to the AIDS patients in the years you were able to.

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    1. Dear Deanna, the thing about my life is that I had the time to do what I did because I wasn't married, I had no children, I was able to arrange my work so as to free up time. Most women in the past forty years haven't been in that situation. Their lives have been full, replete with responsibilities. I did what I did because I could just as all the women I know did what they did because that was their life at the time.
      Peace.

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  11. Dee, your listening heart has been such a blessing to so many, but I can't think of anyone who would benefit more than a young man at such a time as the end of his life. Your ability to enter into his suffering is so Christ-like, and although I believe you are too humble to fully accept that comparison, I believe you have dedicated your life to being someone who consciously supports a person in trouble. Lon/Liam obviously affected you greatly, and I am certain that you gave him a gracious support until the sad ending. I am touched. Debra

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    1. Dear Debra, your words are always so kind and I thank you for them. From Yeshua, I have learned that to respond to the needs of others is to respond in a real way to our own needs. That is, we all long to be one with others. That is a need we have. And so when Lon and I greet one another we are gifting each other with Oneness. Does that make sense? It's so basic to my beliefs. Peace.

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  12. This brought tears to my eyes again. It's such a powerful section and really embodies what an amazing gift you have with words.
    These two lines are especially powerful:

    "I opened my heart to receive these last gifts from my friend."

    “You already know how to listen, Dee. Dulcy taught you.”

    Both pull on my heartstrings. "Twelve Habits of Highly Successful Cats and Their Humans" is brimming with vast wisdom. Like the Bible and other timeless books, many truths fill these pages. One can read your book multiple times and still gain fresh insights. What a gift you and Dulcy have given to your readers.

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  13. Dear Elisa, thank you for your enthusiasm about Dulcy's companion book "Twelve Habits of Highly Successful Cats & Their Humans." I so appreciate your support. Peace.

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  14. Heart, kindness and friendship is something you have an abundance of, dearest Dee.
    Be well and happy :)

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    1. Dear Pam, thank you. And may you be well and happy also as you wonder down in Florida among those birds and waters and flowers whose beauty you photograph.
      Peace.

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  15. Just beautiful Dee, just beautiful.

    I have tried to live my life with an open mind and an open heart. However, when I read your posts, I feel there was more that I could have done. You have taught us much.

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    1. Dear Arleen, that's all we can do--live our lives with "an open mind and an open heart." Sometimes I've closed my mind and heart and only later realized that I was closing down the possibilities of what being human means. And that's all we can do also--live and learn. Peace.

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  16. I read a quote a few months ago that has resonated with me so deeply since then. It went something like this: "Most of us listen with intent to respond rather than listening with intent to understand."

    I feel more than anything that you listen with a deep desire to understand and find wisdom and teaching from others and that is a gift, both for you and for the one talking. Thank you for this. It is invaluable.

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  17. Dear Kari, that quote says so much to me. For many years that is how I did listen--always thinking of how I was going to respond to what was being said. How I could add to the topic or wow the listeners or what I'd say in disagreement or how I'd solve the problem. I'm so glad I was able, finally, to let go of all that and simple be present to what is being said. At least that's what I try to do. I bet you do the same. Peace.

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  18. Our pets know our state of mind and if we let them, they can teach us to love by pure instinct too.

    I am glad to know you, the sort of kind hearted person who attends and listens to those in most need, irrespective of what the rest of the world may say.

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  19. Dear Friko, yes, Dulcy taught me so much about equanimity and silence and listening. About simply being present. I hope you know how glad I am to have met your through your blog. Always, your postings make me stop to think and wonder and often your wit leaves me smiling. Peace.

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  20. All I can do is to echo the comments above. You are a true listener & I feel blessed to be part of the Oneness with you.

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    1. Dear Fishducky, thank you for your kind words and congratulations on starting your own blog: fishducky.blogspot.com. Peace.

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  21. Your words are inspirational, Dee.
    Thank you for sharing this part of your life with us.

    Patricia :)

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    1. Dear Patricia, I plan soon to go on to another part of what hopefully will end up to be a memoir. I'm not sure whether to write about the convent after I took first vows or to back to my growing up years. So I've got something to ponder! Peace.

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  22. Dee, this was lovely and the way you express yourself is quite remarkable. Just ordered your book today. I can't wait to get it next week. Thank you for always stopping by my blog even when I can't always stop by yours. It means so much.

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  23. Dear Stephanie, thank you for stopping by and never doubt that I'll be a reader of your blog no matter how often you can come to this one. We all have demanding lives and right now you need to concentrate on the great and wonderful happenings in yours. Be at peace.

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  24. "In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars are laughing when you look at the sky at night. You - only you - will have stars that can laugh."

    The Little Prince

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    1. Dear Brigid, I see that you, too, love "The Little Prince." When did you first read it? for me it was back in 1956 in college. I still have the copy that a friend gave me then. She is now dead and it is one of my most treasured remembrances of her.
      Peace.

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  25. We can learn so much from those we encounter. A teacher who listens learns a great dal from the students. That makes for a very interactive experience for both! Love the way you put emotions onto a peg.

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