In the operating room, It’s not unusual for the rest of the world to fall out of focus As she becomes totally absorbed in the task at hand. Her attention is captivated by the surgeon at work on the patient. Every thought of herself is eclipsed in that moment— Put on pause, suspended— until the work is done. And this is her choice and her gift: to lay down her attention And pick it back up again later. The surgeons hand reaches out, but even before it does, She is already holding out the tool requested. Engrossed absolutely in the experience and thoughtlessly fixated on others, She anticipates perfectly each phase of this familiar and internalized sequence And plays her part beautifully, like a dance, With total, relaxed concentration and fluidity of motion. For me, there’s no other time in my life where I achieve This same sustained, relaxed, and thoughtless action better Than when I’m immersed in the sound of music And driving the rhythm on the drumset. My own thoughts dissolve completely As I turn my attention entirely to the sensation of sound in my ears And the movement of my limbs (known as, “proprioception”). With my eyes fixated on the leader And my awareness tuned in to the harmony that surrounds me, It’s not all that uncommon for me to lose myself for a while. And in that place, I exist solely as a member of a greater body When everything I do, think (or don’t think) Is wholly dedicated to the good of the whole. Banded together, we become one New body. The same sensation, I imagine, Happens to any dedicated player of any team sport Whenever they become completely absorbed in the game. It reminds me of a flock of birds Flying through the air, Moving like a single cloud— Turning here and there In perfect synchronicity As if all of them shared one mind. And I wonder if, Just as every body is made up of countless cells, Perhaps it’s only natural that one of our greatest joys, too, Is the act of synchronizing— That, Maybe one of our simplest means to transcendence Is in losing ourselves for a time as individuals To band together with others in total cooperation To form a new, unified whole— To become part of a larger body. Now— now the fantasy dawns on me Of a utopia already breaking in Where all people experience this subtle transcendence daily Through their work, music, dance,— Wherever total cooperation binds them together. But this cooperation finds perfection When one or many souls together Become absorbed in the pervasive Spirit of the Lord of all And synchronize their wills with the will of Almighty To join the work and song and dance of the Spirit.
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