The Man without a Leg -- A Medicine Story

I’m sharing this non-political story at a time of great and increasing danger as the world veers ever-closer to catastrophic war.

I am offering it especially to the political people among my readers. Sure, for those who are not politically oriented, it might be a welcome break, but in this moment of crisis it is especially important for those immersed in political discourse to look outside it.

When I was in Bhutan many years ago, a man shared with me some words of the country’s prime minister. “I make sure to spend at least half my time in the villages,” the prime minister told him, “because I find that if I spend too much time in the capital, I am unable to make wise decisions.”

Immersed in an environment where everyone thinks that their sphere is where all the important things are happening, people lose touch with reality. That happens to any of us if we spend too much time reading the news or following it on social media. It is all so important, so serious. But the causal assumptions that place primary importance on the political realm are themselves part of the mentality of power. And so, to help me and my political friends maintain our sanity, I offer this true story told by Allison Durazo.

It is the man with one leg who has stayed with me ever since I first heard Allison tell the story. Divorced in his trailer, raising three daughters, diabetic, a recent amputee, he is an abjectly powerless person—as the political mind calculates importance. He is someone who may be moved and shaken by world events, but he is not a mover or a shaker.

I bet that some part of you knows that calculation is wrong.

There are hidden angels among us. They hold the world together. Their words and actions radiate out into society, even into politics, through utterly mysterious paths.

This man did not calculate that his kind, jocular words to Allison were his highest-leverage, impact-maximizing use of his resources. He does not abide in that particular theory-of-change, or any theory-of-change. He isn’t trying to figure out how to have a positive effect on the world. He doesn’t have to.

There are many like him out there. They are usually to be found in the most humble stations. You probably have met a few, now and then.

Sometimes New Age teachers speak of “guardian races” protecting our planet, helping us through the current world-initiation. This is the form they take. They do not require anything from us, but we can amplify their work immensely through the power of gratitude and awe. These emotions open a channel to receive their soul force, which enters in and sets the stage for our own transition into a higher level of service by bringing down the obstacle of self-importance. That’s a key obstacle, because most of the things that need doing today, desperately need doing, will not accrue to the doer any kind of public recognition, reward, or credit. They will not usually seem “important” to the recognition of the political mind or the save-the-world mind. And when the “important” choice does arise—whether to press the launch button, perhaps—it is thousands of “unimportant” choices that create the template for what that choice will be.

Thank you to the great souls in humble stations holding our world together. Please take a moment to recall one to mind with awe and gratitude, so that we may be humbled to do the important work that awaits us.