Green Lantern: Stronger Together

I had begun my studies in Buddhism, but was still feeling skeptical. Although much of The Art of Happiness spoke to me on such a deeply spiritual level, there were portions with which I argued. Literally. I write my arguments in the margin.

For instance, having compassion is important, but when I feel as if I am being asked to put aside my individuality, I quickly resist. In The Art of Happiness, Howard C. Cutler stated he “was in the rudimentary stages of compassion.” That's where I was too.

But, in an instant, it hit me. How connected we really are through the shared experience of suffering. That day at Starbucks, I ordered my pumpkin chai latte and the Barista told me that the drink was paid for by a pay-it-forward initiative in honor of a little boy who had died. Devin Suau was supposed to turn seven that day – October 27th. This young child’s life was over and he was only able to see a fraction of things that this world has to offer. This leaves a family in agony; an agony that no one ever wants to know. Losing someone we love is the worst fear for many of us. But if you live long enough you do know that pain, eventually? The experience touched me deeply, as I was still attempting to figure out how to exist since my mother had passed away.

As a Witch, our interconnectedness was not a new concept to me. But suddenly, I had a new level of awareness that pain is a shared affliction. Not all have endured that pain of death. Some suffer because they haven’t healed from an sense of lacking self-worth. Others are in physical pain or just can’t seem to navigate life without sorrow and distress. No one is exempt, right? I mean even happy people suffer.

It brought me to see why I had been struggling with some of the concepts from The Art of Happiness. I am a Westerner. Though community is one of the things I am passionate about, I still pride myself on my individuality. While the witch in me knows we are all one connected cosmos, I also stand up ready to fight for my own individual truth. And that’s okay. I can both uphold community and be strong enough to be exactly who I am. But in my quest for individuality, I had let myself forget how much we share.

I noticed the mood of most of the patrons there that day. I’m not sure I have a good word for it. It was like we were all grieving, yet, somehow uplifted. Humbled maybe. I feel like that is what Buddhism has taught me. It has taught me that we are all suffering, and if we just have more compassion, we can ease that just a little on a global level. Our energy resonates. We all make a difference and have a choice about what kind of energy we put out there.

Devin Suau’s energy shines in a very big way. When, at age six, he was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare form of brain cancer, his family started an organization called Why Not Devin. He loved the superhero Green Lantern. Wiki explains that “Green Lantern was one of the founding members of the Justice League of America. This group banded together, realizing that they worked much stronger as a team than any of them could have as individuals.” Seems to me, that this little guy knew all about community. His spirit lives on through his family’s fight to help the families of other children with DIPG. Devin’s spirit has affected such a wide community. Local (Massachusetts) stations such as the Boston Police Department, individual households, and even Target shine green lights in the boy’s name. Devin and the green light stand for community, in my eyes. We are all connected, we all suffer, and the compassion that put out reverberates endlessly.

The energy from a little boy I’d never met stuck with me for the rest of the weekend. I was simply more open, which enabled me to act with kindness and compassion. When we visited a couple of friends the next day, they gave us a thoughtful gift. A beautiful old Coleman lantern—green, of course. At that moment, I felt like my lesson on community—through the lenses of compassion—had come full circle.

And Dude, you superhero fans might want to read more about Green Lantern.

~ Peace And Love, Tracey

© Tracey Love, 2018. All rights reserved.