Who put the altruist in “spirituality”*?
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Not long ago I was seated in the very back row of an airplane. You know the row I mean: next to the line of sweaty people who need to pee, in the way of wayward crash carts, and with seats that do not lean back. I need my two inches of seat-lean, y’know? I knew it was going to be an interminable flight.
I looked to the right for help. Maybe my right-hand seatmate would provide interesting conversation fodder. She was a heavily pregnant returnee from visiting her family in Costa Rica. Looked at her book. Nora Roberts. Uh, no thanks.
Looked left: a 40-something frantic disheveled woman carrying multiple bags, totes, and assorted je ne sais quoi, carefully arranging books, iPod, journal, pens, etc. Uh, not there either. But wait. Her book: Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Probably an Oprah convert, but there were possibilities. We engaged.
This Broadway choreographer was thrilled to meet a Real Psychic-Person. So we talked shop. And it came out that she was hugely judgmental of Marianne Williamson because of the rumor going round that Ms. Williamson’d had a facelift. Apparently spiritual people are supposed to be above such things, she says.
I nearly spit out my club soda.
Sure, there’s such a thing as “walk the walk,” but that’s in how lives are lived. Since when does this apply to one’s appearance? Pardon me, but how I look and what it takes to get there is my business. If I want to wear mile-long eyelashes like the lovely Esther Hicks or ‘fro out my hair like Sai Baba then la-di-fucking-da, people. Appearance does not affect the message.
Why is it that people who touch lives in this intrinsic way are held to a higher standard regarding their appearance? Sure, Gandhi made an effort to always appear clean and in clean, neat clothing, but this was an outward reflection of his inner self. A choice he made. Not a requirement to meet someone else’s standard.
So let it go. Let Marianne have her facelift and leave her alone. She looks fabulous no matter how she got there.
The message stands alone. No matter how it is delivered.
*”Spirituality” also anagrams to “a pity I slur it.” Something you ought to know.
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