As the light turned green, I noticed a very fast moving leaf rolling across the crosswalk in front of me. Only, on second glance, it wasn’t a leaf. It was a tiny mouse.
Huge SUVs, massive trucks, offroad vehicles, and polished sports cars all slowly lunged forward. My heart went into my throat as I cried, “No! No! No! God, save the mousie!” In a beautiful synchronized movement, every single vehicle simultaneously came to a stop, creating a protective shield around the little mouse as it made it to the sidewalk and the safety of the surrounding bushes. My eyes teared up at the beauty of the moment.
Just two days later, and two blocks from that very spot, I was in line to turn left into the Safeway parking lot in Sedona. A woman driving in the opposite direction made her right hand turn into the parking lot, and came to a sudden halt. She jumped out of her car with a frantic look on her face. A tiny white chihuahua came hauling ass around the side of her vehicle, and was headed straight for the highway! The woman ran towards the street waving her arms at the huge truck in front of me that was just about to turn left into the path of the tiny dog. Thankfully, the driver saw her and the dog and stopped, then pulled his truck into the lane of oncoming traffic just enough to slow them down, giving the dog time to safely change direction.
Now the dog began running ahead of traffic, staying in the lane like a tiny electric vehicle. Clueless drivers hastily passed by the truck. I and the driver behind me rolled down our windows and waved our arms frantically, crying out for them to STOP!!! A young man on a bicycle, seeing the imminent danger that the dog was in, valiantly pulled out in front of the oncoming traffic. Other drivers, finally seeing what the commotion was about, stopped and left their vehicles in pursuit of the terrified little dog. Every pedestrian in sight also banded together to corral the little guy. In no time at all, nearly twenty people had abandoned whatever mission they were on, and joined the greater mission to save that little life.
Unfortunately, amidst the chaos, I had no choice but to eventually turn left into the parking lot where I parked and sat in trembling prayer that the little dog had been rescued. I have no doubt that it had been.
Like so many others, I had recently begun to lose my faith in humanity. It seemed like everywhere I turned, I saw insensitive behavior. One day, while shopping in Safeway, I unwittingly turned my shopping cart into the path of an oncoming young woman, somewhat blocking her path. I said, “Oh, I’m so sorry! Excuse me.” She huffed and said, “No,” as she brushed past me. What was happening to simple kindness?
But, there, amidst the chaos and frantic rush of life, a tiny mouse and a tiny dog came to slow us down and remind us of our true inner nature, which is to love one another and value the breath of every living creature as being precious.
We might think that we were saving their lives. Actually, they were saving ours.
