Little Acts of Big Impact

I have been struck lately by the power or "being" and the impact of our "energy."  Last week I was driving back to the Denver area from Copper Mountain.  I'm blasting along I-70 when I see an SUV on the side of the road with what originally looked like a person on a blanket looking under the back of the vehicle.  As I zoomed by, my brain registered that they weren't repairing the vehicle, they were giving aid to a small child on a blanket, and it looked like one adult was giving CPR while the other was racing around the car.

I quickly slammed on the brakes and pulled off in the dirt to the shoulder of the freeway, and then drove backward at high-speed until I was near enough to run the remainder of the way back to the vehicle.  As I approached, I saw that the mom was on the blanket with a little boy, maybe 3, who was fairly non responsive with a pile of vomit in front of his face. The mom's hands were visibly shaking as she spoke lovingly to her child, working to get him more conscious.  The dad at that point just rounded the vehicle from the freeway side with a blanket.  The temperature was probably about 40 degrees.  I asked how I could help.  The dad told me the little guy had had a massive seizure.  The mom chimed in that he'd had one before, but had never vomited before.  They were clearly frightened out of their minds.  For those of you who have been around individuals who've had a seizure, you know the terror of watching a loved one, or one near you lose total control of their physical and emotional state.  You've watched the fear and confusion on their faces when they finally work to re-enter consciousness.

In the absence of anything tangible to do, I put my hand on the dad's arm and basically said I was there and had worked with kids who'd had seizures before, or something. I'm honestly not sure what I said and what I thought about saying.  At one point the dad and I squatted down as he supported his wife and son.  I waved to the little sister in the car seat in the truck and got her to flash a brief smile a midst the chaos, then placed one hand on the dad and one hand on the mom.  And, I simply stayed and held the space for their care of their son.  The mom reassured me and herself that her son was breathing.  His color was returning well.

After awhile, I have no concept of the time, I asked if they needed anything further. They thanked me profusely, and I walked back to my car and proceeded on my way.  I thought their thank-yous were overly nice for me not "doing" anything.  As I reflected on the rest of my drive home, the power of impact of our energy hit me hard.  The power of "being."  Being present to others; being present to what is needed.  I could see and sense in hindsight the calming, encompassing power of strong energy.  Many factors I'm sure were at play, and I do know that the confident, grounded energy I brought to that scene helped de-escalate the frantic fear for the parents.  I know I played a part in  helping them ground and be centered and present to their son as he returned from his physical and emotional absence from the present.  An honor to witness them in their beauty as parents in a very tough situation.

I think when these beautiful people thanked me, I said something to the effect of "no worries."  Next time, I will accept the thank you being gifted to me for the impact I had.  I will say, "You are welcome."

Where in your life is your energy having an impact?

Where in your life do you need to say, "You are welcome?"