A little over 2 weeks ago, on a very nice and warm Sunday, my daughter, her friend, and I decided to go to the beach. It was also the day before their 8th grade graduation. Beaches were crowded that day, so it took us a while to find parking and eventually a tiny beach below a rocky cliff to spend our afternoon. Soon after setting down our things, the girls went into the water to play. I began spreading out my space on the beach, hoping to relax and meditate. But I quickly noticed the 2 couples to my left, caucasians with beer in their hands and tattoos on their arms, talking and laughing. I watched my mind as it judged them and began to feel annoyed. A series of other random negative thoughts about them followed. I was about to close my eyes and meditate on this....Then, this happened:

About 20 yards away, I saw my daughter stepping out of the water. With an urgent look on her face, she waved for me and pointed to her foot. Something in the water had cut her foot and she was bleeding profusely. I ran quickly over with a towel and applied pressure, but the bleeding wouldn't stop initially. A few people had come to our aid by then. One of the guys immediately took off his t-shirt, tore it, and tied a turniquet around my daughter's leg. They continued to put pressure on the wound with another towel and wrapped it nice and tight. They proceeded to help her onto a low beach chair offered by a nearby beach goer and propped her injured foot up.

911 was called in the midst of that and someone even volunteered to climb up the rocks to the street to flag the arriving EMT crew.

Finally, as the situation stabilized, I started breathing better again. So, I looked up to thank and see who these beach angels were that came to our aid. To my surprise, they were the same 4 people that I had, just moments earlier, judged incessantly.

I was instantly stunned and humbled by these kind, gentle, caring souls. For a few seconds that followed, I felt the world come to a complete halt and a shift, for me. It felt like a divine intervention. I had been blinded by my prejudice earlier and then yanked awoken from the events the universe unveiled. Underneath it all, beyond skin deep, we are ONE and the same- kind and loving beings.

The firemen reached us soon after and unwrapped the towels to examine the wound. They commented that the tourniquet is one of the best they've seen, but we’d need to get the wound stitched up soon. They discussed the options and decided to have one of the 5 firemen piggyback her up with the rest of the crew supporting the climb.

Needless to say, we were completely blown away by all the kindness we had received. Just a day prior, my daughter had attended the Awakin Teens circle to brainstorm ideas on acts of kindness. So, what a gift it was to be on the receiving end the very next day in such an unexpected and dramatic manner!

I am very grateful for this unexpected event and for what it was, an invaluable gift from the universe-an awakening from strangers’ kindness.