POem #12: Sarah Silverman

I know from previous posts it may appear that I am rooted in the past but I do watch current events from time to time and was recently perusing twitter and caught a tweet chain between Sarah Silverman and a hurting person who called her a horrible name. It was just a one word tweet. And in that word she heard a cry for help and clicked on his profile and learned that he was burdened with scars from his past. Instead of ignoring him, or responding in anger, she responded to him as a real person and, ultimately, created connections to help him progress forward away from past pain. 

I think what I loved most about reading what felt like an intimate twitter interaction is that it reinforces a lesson that my eldest sister has tried to get through my skull on numerous occasions; that the world is not black and white- but gray. Sarah Silverman, like anyone, can rub people the wrong way. She is not 100% good or 100% bad, as nobody is. She is, however, extremely authentic and through that authenticity, is able to help others be their most authentic selves. 

As I'm studying yoga philosophy, I see many parallels between Sarah Silverman's behavior and yoga principles. I see a ray of light through a shadow of fear I've had about posting "to the internet." My fear was always that someone will call me a name or insult, or threaten me, and I was afraid because I was already taking it personally and spiraling down all the things I could or couldn't do in response. It hasn't even happened, it's a theoretical possibility, and I was already taking it personally. It seems the lesson has finally hit home, to let go of my ego, and be like Sarah Silverman. Know that if a future insult comes my way, it's probably not even about me- and if I reach out authentically, maybe I can ease that person's way.