On Behalf

by Green Edventures’ Tara Short

Late I understand
my life is more than mine.
For the benefit of all beings,
say the Buddhists.
From the holographic outlook,
science and mystics agree,
my aliveness holds
and makes
the changing whole.

So I move through each day
on behalf of the world.
When I was kind to Conchita
sitting on the curb this morning,
kindness poured into the All.
When I brushed without thinking
past the boy who asked me for pesos,
I diminished
something more than me.

I replace my judgments
as soon as I spot them,
knowing my thoughts
are truly actions.
The hurt I overheard at lunch
can lodge or not, depending on
nobody’s heart but mine.
I live as large as I can,
on behalf of all us beings.

My life is not just mine
and yours is more than yours.
We make the waves of our lives
with each little drop of our days,
in the name of the ocean of Life.
Such power we can offer
with gesture or silence or tiny word.
How precious to be both
part and whole at once.

©Susa Silvermarie 2021