I called the road service, where a man named Troy answered the phone. His first question to me was, “Are you in a safe place?” It stopped me in my tracks as I felt a wave of appreciation for his question; he then proceeded to take excellent care of me as he called the tow service while I held the line, then let me know exactly when they would arrive. I thanked him and waited. I called Peter back to let him know the progress. He had been in touch with the Honda dealership; they were expecting me and would have a rental car ready for me. I passed the next 45-50 minutes noticing that I felt completely supported and not worried about my being stranded or that my afternoon plans were shot. It was a feeling I’ve had before of being held by larger hands, a sense that a larger plan is being played out and that I would be okay.
The tow driver showed up in a fancy flat bed truck. He was an articulate, bright eyed and friendly Latino man who worked carefully with me to make sure that the car got up on the flat bed without scratching the bike rack hanging low on the rear of the car. He conversed with me as he drove me to the Honda Dealership; I learned about his growing up in the south and told him stories of the snow drifts in our recent home of Colorado. When he dropped me off, without being asked, he took care to park the car carefully with the bike rack pointed into a place where it would not be seen or stolen. He then waited as I spoke with the service people to say goodbye and shake my hand.
Then I met Brian, the service man who took care of me while my car was being processed. He quietly listened as I described the issues, called the rental car company to say I was ready for my rental, then took the trouble to walk out to my lovingly parked car with me as I retrieved my computer bag. We made small talk while I waited for the rental car folks to arrive. His complete willingness to take care of me was a third example of this masculine principle.
The rental car company sent an older fellow to come pick up from the Honda dealership; he came in to find me then escorted me back to the rental, opening the door for me. There was opera music on the radio; this sparked a conversation about arts and culture. When we arrived at the rental car lot, he introduced me to a young man behind the counter named Jay, who promptly took complete care of me, staying well past the six o’clock closing time to make sure I had all the things I needed. At no time did I feel rushed or that he was annoyed. He was taking care of me because it was the right thing to do.
I had no less than 5 men in one short 90 minute period exhibit to me what one principle of masculine energy is meant to look like, on the very same day that I was guided to examine my father’s role modeling of imbalanced masculine energy. I arrived home grateful, in wonder about my experience, and full of appreciation for the balanced masculine, with a knowing of my next step. Taking care of what is meant to be taken care of.
Taking care of what is meant to be taken care of is not solely a masculine principle. Feminine energy also takes care of what needs to be taken care of, but it expresses differently. I think of what I learned as the parent taking care of my babies; quiet nurturing, keeping them clean and safe, making sure they got enough sleep, holding, feeding, loving…the kinds of “taking care” that are maybe less noticeable, somehow more fundamental.
Peter delighted as I related my experiences with these 5 men when I got home; he remarked repeatedly how calm and happy I seemed given the situation. I told him that I had felt the strange sensation of being taken care of by some larger hands. It was then that he shared with me his experience when I called him with car trouble earlier that day…of being so far away and feeling powerless to help. His solution helped to set the stage for me to experience balanced masculine energy.
(Tune in Friday 8/27/10 for the rest of the story!)
