A Forth of July sparkler can be a bit like life. You light the stick at one end and, as it burns down, it simultaneously shoots circles of bursting light. The stick is like the body’s life span. The late Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, called this the vertical plane. It has a beginning and an end, like the human body. The sparks of light, on the other hand, represent our acts of kindness, compassion, friendliness, love and other ways we impact those we meet along this journey of life. Thich Nhat Hanh calls this the horizontal plane.
Sometimes we are aware of the horizontal plane and difference we make in another person’s life or that another person makes in ours. Often, we might not. My 7th grade science teacher changed my life forever. Raised in an era when girls “weren’t smart in science,” Mrs. Cleary’s joy and enthusiasm for the subject sparked an excitement in me that enabled me to discover a love for science, excel and pursue a career in physical therapy. Her enthusiasm continues to live in me to this day. More recently, the daughter of a dear friend choose physical therapy as her career after meeting me and witnessing my inexhaustible enthusiasm for the field. As a little of Mrs. Cleary’s joy and love lives in me, I believe it now also lives in this young, early career PT.
We live simultaneously in the vertical and horizontal planes. We readily identify with the vertical plane as we are aware of the body’s sensory experiences and aging process. The horizontal plane is less obvious, less visible. What if this vertical plane is but a very small part of who we are? As I navigate the uncertainties of living with cancer, reflecting on the horizontal plane can bring ease, stability and joy. It warms my heart to think of people whose sparkling light has added to my life and of others whose lives have been brightened by mine.