Sleep...breath

And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence

Sleep....how was your sleep? was part of the greeting in Hausa.  How are you, your animals, your wife, your children, your sleep, etc. etc.  It went on until one was sufficiently courteous before moving on to the conversation which some called more 'important.'

Did you sleep well last night?  The response to such a question might tell us about how a person is that day - how they are functioning, how much patience they might have, how clear their mind is, how willing they are to tackle something new and different, how they will approach a problem.  It is important information.  That is why we spend lots of our resources on making sure we have a good night's sleep - comfortable mattresses, the best of sheets and pillows, our favorite 'white noise', blocking noise from the outside that might startle, alarm clocks to keep us free from worry, the right lighting or darkness.

But today I want to share a different 'sleep' experience.  It was an experience during which I was not sleeping, but everyone else in the room was.

I volunteered for the graveyard shift at the PADS shelter last week (10 pm to 2 am).  Besides making sure that folks continued to rotate through use of the one shower, my job was to just be present so that people could sleep safely and without worry.

There were 62 people sleeping on mats on the floor - about 1/3 each - men, women and children.  The children were as young as three months old.

Although a few people were asleep when I arrived at 9:45, the place was not totally quiet and settled until midnight.  And that time between midnight and 2 am is the time I will never forget.  It was such a deeply reverent experience to be there in the presence of 62 people sleeping, breathing, dreaming, all the while trusting me to keep them safe.  Some snored deeply and some turned over every time someone else did one of those loud funny snore noises.  Some never stirred and some had bad dreams - I could hear them fighting with something or someone.  Babies whimpered every now and then and mothers, while remaining asleep, told them shhh.  Some sleep-walked to the bathroom several times, and I had to gently point them to the correct one.  

Then there were some almost miraculous moments when it seemed as if everyone in the room was breathing together, breathing in and out in unison.

And that beautiful sound brought tears to my eyes - and I thought if only people would let themselves tune in to each others' breathing, and breathe together, in unison - I wonder if our relationship to each other and the world would be different.  I wonder if we could better feel our connection.

My relationship to those folks is different - even though I know only about half their names.  I will remember them when I hear them breathing again...for they are my brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, aunts and uncles. 

I am honored to receive such a blessing.

“I am never alone wherever I am. The air itself supplies me with a century of love. When I breathe in, I am breathing in the laughter, tears, victories, passions, thoughts, memories, existence, joys, moments, and the hues of the sunlight on many tones of skin; I am breathing in the same air that was exhaled by many before me. The air that bore them life. And so how can I ever say that I am alone?”   

-C. Joybell C