I had gotten on the bus when I saw her with all of her Whole Foods bags. The bus driver was having technical trouble with the bus and he could not manage to close the door, so that we could move on. I was needing to get to work and as a joke told him, “Let’s pray for the bus.” She overheard me and said, “Do you need me to get out the way, so you can move energy?” I gave her a surprised look and She said, “I know there are some people with gifts. I don’t have them, but I respect them.” I smiled at her and said, “I doubt that.” 

She said, “I am a half-breed Cherokee and I respect those gifts.” I said to myself, “Did she really just say that about herself?” Her grey hair told me of a different generation and a different time. As I looked at her pale skin and blue eyes, a thousand questions flooded me, but somehow all I could do was smile at her.

She said, “As a healer, you must know that you must take care of yourself. You can burn yourself out. I was giving elderly care and there was a man that would do healing work and he was healing this woman with cancer. This woman had terminal cancer and he died before she did with a different kind of cancer. Energy can get in your space and you can take on other people’s sickness if you are not careful.” I said, “Yes, it is true. Thank you so much for your wisdom.” 

The bus driver was not able to get the door closed and so we all got off the bus. As she got off the bus ahead of me, she turned to the driver and said, “I am sorry to abandon you.” When I heard her, I knew in that moment, she was talking to herself, even as she was speaking to me.