Monday, May 14, 2007

the diamond of gratitude

The chain of hearts has blossomed. Not only with the kind comments on this blog, for which I thank you, but Melanie's dedicated search found someone in LA who was wanting to adopt one or two of Ms Wu's dogs, preferably an older dog; she read the last post, and is in love. It hasn't been finalised yet, but what a wonderful unfolding; I will let you know of the progress.
When I emailed Ms Wu to follow up on Tooky's questions, this is what she said. Apparently Lucky is a she!
It seems right when I named her Lucky. I think she would be afraid of cold weather in winter. I never put clothes on her coz it’s not too cold in winter here. She must had suffered a lot before she showed up in my school. She has to be taught to live inside a house. She’s always been friendly and enjoyed the sunshine in corner quietly. She never barks loudly, and only leans towards me at meals with excitement. In general, she’s a tender dog with good behavior who never causes any trouble.
I think I am in love, too!! It did cross my mind what my 3 would think, but LA is much better, not only due to the cold of winter, I would also worry about rattlers, and besides I have to let my heart love them all!!
Tia's comment also reminded me that I haven't thanked everyone for helping us secure the land on which we will build a beautiful, sustainable animal sanctuary. I know some of you were able to make cash donations, and others held us in your thought and prayers. To every one of you, i say thank you. I cannot articulate what this means, it is a gift of life, hope and awakening, for each and every one of us.
When I was young, my mother made me write thank you cards; a task I resisted and whined about, especially for gifts I didn't especially like - why thank them for That! She, however was adamant, and so i chewed my pen and wrote " Dear Aunty.....". I also had to write thank you's to school comrades for birthday party invitations, regardless of it was someone i liked. It seemed an odorous, endless task.
However, now that I have passed the age my mother was when she enforced this rule, i understand the power of thank you. It doesn't matter what the gift or event was, or if I enjoyed it, it is an expression of gratitude for the thoughtfulness of the giver, for the kindness of the heart.
This was brought vividly alive for me through the work of Masuru Emoto on the effects of prayer and positive thought and words on the crystal formation of water; you can see the difference that occurs....how extraordinary. Here is his response to the question of whether he had discovered a particular word or phrase that best helped the natural waters of the world:
"Yes. There is a special combination that seems to be perfect for this, which is love plus the combination of thanks and appreciation, reflected in the English word gratitude. Just one of these is not enough. Love needs to be based in gratitude, and gratitude needs to be based in love. These two words together create the most important vibration. "
The purity and beauty of the crystal, as seen above, mirror the effect on our hearts, and the world, when we respond with love and gratitude to the thoughtful words and acts of others. It becomes a gift reciprocated - fluid, boundless. It is a gift that takes little effort, and yet its value is immeasurable. We, too, consist so much of water - imagine these diamonds in our cells!
I am grateful to my mother for engraving this idea in my mind, although it has taken decades to recognise its value! But that is the magnificence of even the smallest gift of kindness - it ripples through our lives, shedding jewels at unexpected moments, sometimes in dark, neglected corners of ourselves. To be able to say thank you is a blessing and a promise, it reflects the space in which something of benefit was received, and becomes the space for such a gift to again be welcomed, perhaps by someone else. The lines between the giver and receiver are blurred, there is simply the pure and perfect vibration of gratitude, which describes the hearts of us all.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, thank you, thank you, to this person in LA, and special thanks to Melanie for finding this home for lucky Lucky! She sounds like a really sweet dog. It makes the heart warm to know she has a chance. And thank you, Kunzang, for all you do!

Tia said...

I am so happy for Lucky, and that you were able to help her find a home.

Mr. Emoto's work has fascinated me ever since I watched "What the Bleed Do We Know". I loved the part where one of the characters says something to the effect of; "If words can do that to water, imagine what they can do to us?"

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Kunzang, you and your words are a daily inspiration. Lucky will be very happy in LA, the lady is probably going to take her and a shy quiet mama dog, who came from a different rescuer in Taiwan. We have found homes for 4 of her 5 pups that are coming on the 26th. Your words about the lines between giver and receiver have especially hit home. Its given me so much excitement and joy to be one of the mediums that the universe is choosing to make a difference in these sweet animals lives.

kunzang said...

Melanie - I am so happy for Lucky and her new friend, thank you! Ms Wu sent me stories and pictures of most of the 'babies' coming to us- and i can't wait to welcome them. Some magnificent, mainly young dogs. I went straight up to the sanctuary area and we walked around, really looking at the spaces to build their gardens (2 or 3 areas), and I don't think its going to be an effort at all...that was just my worried imagination. I think we probably have nearly everything here we need (isn't that the way!). So hopefully early June we can begin to welcome them; i will let you and Vickie know asap!! We are really excited and glad to be part of this: again, thank you!!

EdaMommy said...

You know, I always try very hard to let me people know my gratitude, to say thank you. However, I am still terrible at thank you cards....Undoubtedly a flaw on my part, but I really like to talk to folks in person - face to face - if I can, or at least on the phone.

I am so grateful that so many of the pups are going to find homes. How very cool for Lucky - what a wonderful lady for taking her and her soon to be new friend....

I can't wait to hear about the new pups settling in with y'all. Thank you for what you do!