HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL AS WE ARE PRIVELEDGED TO SHARE PANDAPIG'S personal experience - up close and personal - with suffering, loneliness, pain, life, and death: a little guinea pig with an undiagnosed, possibly terminal illness that he endures without complaint: Inspiring within us placid, still REFLECTIONS ON OUR OWN MORTALITY AS WE QUESTION whether or not we have offered selfless service to others to the best of our own ability as generously as a little guinea pig can still offer love and affection - even comfort! - in the midst of his own suffering? HE IMPRINTS THOSE HE TOUCHES WITH A SURE KNOWING THAT THE ONLY LEGACY WE LEAVE ONCE WE ARE FREED FROM OUR MORTAL COIL IS THE LOVE AND SERVICE WE HAVE GIVEN TO OTHERS AS SELFLESSLY as this LITTLE GUINEA PIG; RESCUED AFTER ABANDONMENT, NEGLECT, AND TRAUMA at the hands of his humans. And yet, how is it he loves each and every one of us as innocently and sweetly as if loving for the very first time? How many humans posses Panda's holy capacity for forgiveness, trust, and faithfulness?
Panda's spirit illuminates creation as he ceaselessly offers affection, giving mom little kisses in the hospital, silently enduring his own fragile, vulnerable, suffering with no complaint upon his soft lips, only kisses, Panda comforting his grieving mom.
WHO AMONG US LOVES LIKE THIS GUINEA PIG? Who among us live in an innocent holiness equal to that of a little rodent once thrown away as a nuisance and bother who nobody wanted... hair matted, full of the stench of his own urine and poo,
then abandoned, alone, in his filthy cage at a feed store just a year or so ago? Could we endure that and still love?
Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj once said: "Work is worship...So do one thing at a time, completely, wholly, and solely; and you will find you will save many troubles." ( Excerpted from his talk to disciples entitled "Little, Little Things") He also said, "Man is the highest in all creation...So, have reverence for all...All are our brothers, our younger brothers in the family of God, whether they are around you, above you, or below you."
The guinea pigs enable mom to focus all of her attention on tending to each detail necessary to comforting the littlest dear ones, no matter how tired she is or ill she feels. A silken cloak of Holiness always descends softly as falling feathers, gathering up the herd and mom, warming and uniting all in sure knowing that we, too, are Loved. Life and death are of less consequence than loving and giving while living with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might. That done, we may rest peacefully in whatever God wills for us, knowing we have shown up for work, having sincerely and mightily done our very best...tended to details, loved when we feel tired, served when we are ragged, and thus made a difference, however large or small is not for us to judge, in the life of one less fortunate than ourselves. This is what we are learning from PandaPig's Sanctuary: how work with loving attention to detail transforms even the most mundane task into a Holy Pilgrimage of Service. Panda Pig is not the one who got rescued. Indeed, he is the one rescuing us! Our little BuddhaPig humbles us by his innocent, good-natured example of Giving comfort to those so worried about him!
Good night, sweet dreams. Wake up in Peace, walk in Peace, sleep in Peace, and give, give, give only love, love, love. For Panda.
