Compassion sidewalk sale

Kwan Yin, it is said, hears all the sounds of the world. She is not a goddess, not an idol; she is the idea of compassion. We create an image of what we need. She hears, some say, our cries, our hopes, our losses. She hears and holds all we have. She listens. She doesn't change a thing. She just abides with us, if we call her, so that we are not alone with our wish for things to be different.

In the years when I was in training to become a Buddhist nun, I invoked her daily as a model, so that I could be a listening presence for myself and others. Today is heavy with letting go, for me. (Details not necessary. We all have such times.) Today I came across this sidewalk sale, two mediocre but still graceful Kwan Yins, cheap. Forty percent off.

When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom,
let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom,
let it be.
--Lennon and McCartney.