MY SUFI BOWL

How to fill an empty bowl with offerings? I finally concluded that I had to attempt to fill my own bowl, otherwise it would remain empty. My contributions clunked into the bowl.  There was pleasure, but there was also the dull l echo of a chunk hitting the cold, hard surface of the metal vessel. The flowers I bought myself were fine and offered visual and sensory pleasure, but they did not fill the room or my heart.

Then I discovered that when I brought people into my life, they were disposed to ply the bowl with a plentitude of gifts. There was the friend I met for dinner and a jazz piano concert, who listened carefully and actively as I described my awful 2 hour commute to Mt. Sinai to visit my old friend. Her husband made it sound as if the doctors couldn’t fix her and she would die incapacitated, losing her mental abilities. When I finally got to the hospital, frustrated and tired, she had been transferred to a nursing home just an hour before. I thought I’d never see her again. After calming myself for a few minutes, I rushed out of the hospital to meet another friend for dinner. He was so kind. He listened quietly and actively. He paid for dinner, and then walked protectively beside me to the venue where we had tickets to a jazz piano concert. Even though I disliked the performance, I treasured my friend for his sensitivity and the flower of friendship he tossed in my bowl. Another friend made me feel special the following week when we shared dinner and attended a string and wind concert. Another flower in the bowl. My art teacher spent generous time with me to help transform my submission for the next art show. More blossoms. Two friends each invited me to the second night of the Rosh Hashanah celebrations, knowing that I usually spend the second night at my old friend’s home and this year she was too sick. Two more sprigs. One after another friends placed flowers of fellowship in the bowl. It’s a lovely floral arrangement. Now an ensuing echo resounds with rich, deep jewel tones, just when I thought it would remain an empty bowl.

Marsha H.

Sept. 2019