Judy's hands

On a busy day at the Community Meal in Leadville, I would be running around like a mad woman: where is the bread? Where is the cheese? Am I burning the casserole? Did someone need a food bag? Have we got the salad out yet?

Judy, a woman who crosses the border between guest, volunteer and angel, would often stop me and place both her hands on the top of my head. I am sure it was a strange sight. For one thing, Judy is at least a foot taller than me. Her gesture was part blessing, part road block. But it never failed to slow me down and set me a little bit more right. It was as though she could put the energy back into my body through her warm hands, as if she were handing back to me little pieces of myself that she was watching fly around the room.

I often think of Judy's hands on my commute to work. I arrive at the Ogilvie Transportation Center, thinking, "Do I have my keys? Do I have my wallet? Did I forget my phone?" I start the walk up Monroe with hundreds of other rushing commuters, heads down, shoes clicking. I feel Judy's hands on my head, part blessing, part road block.

"The Great Way is easy," I read in the Tao Te Ching this morning. "Yet people prefer the side paths. Be aware when things are out of balance. Stay centered within the Tao."