Emotionally-Charged Moments Can Offer Much Joy

Emotionally-charged moments can offer us an abundance of opportunities for healing. We have a tendency, however, to avoid emotionally-charged situations. We have numbed ourselves to living our lives so that everything unfolds without us having to feel our emotions. Feeling our emotions has become so taboo that we have become a culture of automatons. Worse, we have learned to repress and suppress our emotions. A recent outing with my partner allowed everyone to experience the magical healing that feeling our emotions offers.

My partner, Sherwin, has been living with Parkinsons for over 20 years. At present, the symptoms are what may be described as advanced. Sherwin’s mobility is significantly compromised and it has become necessary to acquire an electronic mobility aid to help him perform daily tasks and activities.

For several months, we have been working with a local organization that matches donors of electronic mobility devices with those in need of these devices. During June, Sherwin was matched with a donor and we scheduled a day and time to visit the donor and view the device.

So, on the day in question, Sherwin and I ventured to New Edinburgh to visit the donor of the mobility device. It just so happened that New Edinburgh was the neighborhood that Sherwin grew up in as a boy. So going back to New Edinburgh was a trip down memory lane that brought up many emotions for Sherwin. As we drove through New Edinburgh, Sherwin would share how he used to play “over there,” and “visit friends over there,” and “attend school and church over there”…and so on. In recalling his childhood, there were precious moments where Sherwin became emotional and teared up. It was a wonderful mix of joy, as evidenced by the smiles on Sherwin’s face and excitement in his voice, and who knows what else as tears ran down his cheeks.

We finally arrived at the donor’s home. We were greeted by the donor (we will call him Fred) and a representative from the organization that facilitated the matching of Sherwin’s needs with the donor who had an electric wheelchair to be donated to someone in need (we will call him Phil).

Sherwin took some time to look over the electric wheelchair with Phil and tested it out. It was determined that the wheelchair was in good working order / condition and would serve Sherwin well. At that point Sherwin turned to Fred and asked, “Why are you donating this wheelchair?” It was a perfectly natural question to ask; but what unfolded was a most precious moment.

Fred responded, “My wife lived with MS, and she passed away last month.” Fred started to cry. Fred gathered himself and continued, “It was her wish to donate the chair to someone in need.”

Upon hearing Fred’s words, and witnessing the depth of emotion flowing from Fred, Sherwin started to cry. Sherwin managed to eek out through his tears, “Well, if you are willing to donate the chair to me, I sure could use it. Thank you.”

I glanced over at Phil and he too was crying. While I cannot know for certain why Phil was crying, I suspect it was a combination of being moved by the very touching scene unfolding, and knowing that he had played a crucial role in bringing together Fred and Sherwin to witness and experience this precious moment.

Surprisingly, I did not cry. I was moved beyond words, but I was moved with and to joy. I was so grateful to be present in the moment and experience these three men openly sharing their emotions with each other. I just smiled at everyone. As the intensity of the emotions gradually settled down, I walked over to Fred, shook his hand, and thanked him for his kindness and for donating the wheelchair so Sherwin may be able to improve the quality of his life. I did the same to Phil.

It was such a rare moment, to ‘be’ with these three people who were brought together by Divine intervention—to witness a depth of feeling that was so genuine, so heartful, and so heart-centred. I felt truly blessed.

Robert Meagher has been ordained as an Interfaith Minister and certified as a Sacred Attention Therapy (SAT) Therapist. Robert is the Founder and Spiritual Director for Spiritual Guidance and Co-Founder of the Center for Human Awakening.