In Lak’ech
Tú eres mi otro yo.
You are my other me.
Si te hago daño a ti,
If I do harm to you,
Me hago daño a mi mismo.
I do harm to myself.
Si te amo y respeto,
If I love and respect you,
Me amo y respeto yo.
I love and respect myself.
This poem which comes from Mayan culture and tradition, translated here into Spanish and English offers a meditation today to anyone who wants to enter into the important work of creating safety, security, deep honor and respect between human beings. In this commentary on the poem, we learn that it is based on a Mayan principle which understands the human being as “vibrant being,” a vibrancy that participates in one, interconnected and universal vibration.
I am imagining people who go into meetings, gatherings, protests and even just trips to the mall who make this their thought, their prayer, their intention for being with others. A good friend of mine who shared this with me and other teachers and who has translated it into Latin is going to use it today in classes with his students, in a school that is struggling with deep wounds around racial violence.
This profound little poem bridges that gap that I wrote about yesterday–that gap between those who sit in a comfortable, false harbor feeling no connection with those who never know harbor anytime, anywhere. This poem, this prayer, this prophecy, this call is the bridge. May it become our way in the world.
Bob Patrick
Beautiful words