The Proper Plate
By Alan Cohen
Continued...

There was, of course, no problem with the original plate; it was a perfect steak plate. The maitre d’, you see, was a perfect angel. The man had a keen eye and a huge heart. He saved Roger’s date and his honor. As Roger left the restaurant, the maitre d’ flashed him a kind and wise smile.

When I heard this story, I stopped in my tracks. What a powerful model for compassion in action! I pray that I might be so sensitive to support others in their sense of well-being and transform potentially painful situations with a stroke of kindness.

Here we are in the Christmas season. More than anything else, Jesus stood for compassion and forgiveness. He used every opportunity to remind people that they were whole and loved, and that the spiritual path was not about underscoring sin, but remembering innocence.

Every year I become a bit less interested in the social aspects of the holiday season and more interested in its spiritual poignancy. Every year I buy a few less gifts and seek more to be a gift. I don’t want any more stuff; I just want connection.

One man who lived the spirit of the holiday was Jay Frankston, a Jewish man who wanted more meaning in his life. One December Jay went to the mother of all post offices, the one on 34th Street in New York City, where he picked through the letters that children had written to Santa Claus at the North Pole. Jay became so inspired by these children’s touching requests for things beyond toys that he decided to play Santa Claus and deliver gifts to these kids in poor sections of town. Jay chronicles his adventures in his book, A Christmas Story, A True Story. I cry every time I read this account — it is right up there with the flying-steak-returning-waiter. (You can find the book at Amazon.com; it is listed as appropriate for ages 4-8, but don’t believe a word of that. Adults need this book a lot more than kids.) Okay, so maybe I will buy some gifts this holiday — I’ll give my friends Jay’s book.

Someone asked, "Why become a Buddhist when you can be the Buddha?" At this holiday time we might ask some similar questions "Why become a Christian when you can be an expression of the Christ?" or "Why be Jewish when you can recognize yourself to be one with the great I Am?" or "Why write a letter to Santa when you can be Santa?" We are prone to seek salvation from someone out there, when meanwhile we are the salvation we seek. Perhaps the most cogent statement about how we give our power away came from former child movie star Shirley Temple Black, who reported, "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph."

Our roles in the play of compassion often reverse; sometimes we are the vulnerable kid knocking the steak off the plate and sometimes we are the observant maitre d’ swooping in for the save. My guess is that the more we can practice being the kind maitre d’ for others, the easier it will be for ourselves the next time our steak flies over our date’s shoulders.

Alan Cohen is the author of the best-selling The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the award winning A Deep Breath of Life, and the acclaimed Why Your Life Sucks and What You Can Do About It. To request a free catalog of Alan’s books, tapes, seminars, and life-transforming Mastery Training in Maui, phone 1-800-568-3079, visit Alan's web site www.alancohen.com, email admin@alancohen.com, or write P.O. Box 835, Haiku, HI 96708.