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on this day we remember & honor those who have given their lives for this country in military service. what greater sacrifice can one make than to lay down their life for another? what greater responsibility does a government & its leaders have – no matter the party – than to take the greatest care to only send our military into war when absolutely necessary, not to wars of choice or wars of greed? equal to that, taking the greatest care of those who are fortunate to return home? may we approach this day & all days when lives are at stake, when those willing to sacrifice do not return home, with the sobriety & depth of honor it deserves. may we honor them not just on Memorial Day, but in every way we participate, engage, fight for, & preserve our Representative Democracy. may we in solidarity with their sacrifice, sure-footed & with strong voice, say NO to authoritarianism, to fascism, to theocracy, working to keep our democracy from fracturing & our freedoms from slipping away.

~j

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#MemorialDay #sacrifice #democracy #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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our response to the world.

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#love #life #haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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interbeing is the way of things in this place. and love, the indelible thread that holds it all together, and the stream in which we flow.

~j

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#interdependence #love #JamesFinley #JinpaLhaga #JMWart 

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this world doesn’t need more empty performative pageantry or an agenda of domination in the name of Jesus Christ. the gospel prioritizes the poor, the foreigner, the sick & hungry, the imprisoned & those cast out by the powerful & empire – Christ in the least of these – the very people Trump has targeted through rhetoric & policy. the Gospel is not a stamp of approval on oppressive power, it holds a mirror to it, & calls it out. White Christian Nationalism’s very premise along with its rhetoric & actions make it anti-Gospel, anti-Christ, & anti-love.

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just my two cents on Trump’s persistent attacks on Pope Leo XIV:

the views Pope Leo XIV has shared regarding war, immigrants, healthcare, & poverty have reflected the gospel & it is his role to share those views. the gospel calls for peace, it prioritizes the poor, the foreigner, the sick & hungry, the imprisoned & all those cast to the margins & left out by empire – the very people the Trump administration has targeted through rhetoric & policy. Christ in the least of these. the gospel is not a stamp of approval for oppressive power, it holds a mirror to it, & calls it out. alternatively, Trump & his administration appear to have fully embraced White Christian Nationalism in rhetoric & policy, which is anti-gospel & must be named as so.  

~j

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#PopeLeoXIV #gospel #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #BWphotography

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For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.

Life creates it, makes it grow.

Its energy surrounds us and binds us.

Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.

You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.

Even between the land and the ship.

~Yoda

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#MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWars #Jedi #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic.” 

~ Vice Admiral Holdo

“Rebellions are built on hope.”

~ Jyn Erso

relevant & applicable.

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#MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWars #Jedi #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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God came to my house and asked for charity.

And I fell on my knees and 

cried, “Beloved,

what may I give?”

“Just love,” He said.

“Just love.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi

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#StFrancisOfAssisi #StFrancis #LoveIsIt #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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there is a predominant group of people doing some bad things, acting indifferent & cruel, but these aren’t all or even most of the people in our scope of awareness. we just need take the time to look. if we take time to look, really look & pay attention to the people around us & that we interact with, i think we’ll see we are surrounded by saints & bodhisattvas. a family member we feel safe with, a friend who always seems to know when to text or call, a coworker who lifts up our best work, a barista who greets us with a smile already knowing our favorite coffee, a nurse or doctor who takes time to listen, & so many others. we can make it an intention & practice to take time to notice such kindness & spaciousness by those around us. it can restore our hope & buoy us, & we can decide to be such a presence for others & a world in need of such people willing to be love.

~j

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#saints #bodhisattvas #KurtVonnegut #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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to see so many of our leaders move from pro-democracy to anti-democracy, to shift in their values, their ethics, & morals, seemingly so easily, has reminded me of a proclamation, a phrase, that i often see in Zen circles & that i have used myself, which is “live by vow“. this proclamation points to our deep alignment w/ what we care about, value, & hold to be sacred & true. then living our lives in alignment with that. it does not mean that we are inflexible, on the contrary, we must be flexible to live by vow, because our devotion to love, to what is true, to what is right & beneficial to others & ourselves, & to the world, must be flexible to meet the needs of the moment, without abandoning our devotion to our alignment with what is love, what is true, what is beneficial to others & ourselves, & to the world. 

it seems to me that in this moment, when so many people seem to shift in what they deem is moral, ethical, & certainly what they consider as truth, there must be some of us who “live by vow” as an act of integrity, which in this moment is an act of resistance & rebellion, for the benefit of our world.

~j

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#LiveByVow #SitDownRiseUp #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart