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yesterday, Trump in a speech, whether joking or not joking, suggested it would be a small price to pay if Iran were to take out Los Angeles or San Diego w/ a nuclear weapon. the people attending applauded, cheered & laughed. who have we become to excuse, dismiss – or worse – celebrate such behavior? 

though in AZ, San Diego will always be home for me & Los Angeles is filled with chosen family. even so, Trump’s comments should elicit condemnation regardless of city. frankly though, this moment doesn’t say much about Trump. he is who he is & some of us have seen this clearly since 2015. this moment says more about us, both individually & collectively.

where is the line? when is cruelty too much cruelty? harm too much harm? destruction too much destruction? what will be the cost for some to finally abandon Trump? why are some so willing instead to abandon moral & ethical ground for him? our loyalty should be to love, to loving our neighbor, not to an individual. we own our actions & our support of others’ actions. Trump has shown who he is consistently & repeatedly. the deeper, perhaps more pressing question for this moments is, “who are we?” who we choose to be in this moment has real consequences. may we choose love.

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#integrity #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #calligraphy

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today is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, observing the 800th anniversary of his death. 

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 #love #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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so many creative people, when it comes to this. some may say too many creative people, when it comes to this. in any case, some beneficial advise may be – if it isn’t love, abandon it. stop accepting less than love & then imposing it onto others. 

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#GodIsLove #LoveIsTheWay #AnneLamott #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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in a time when so much is being destroyed, it is good & beneficial to surround ourselves with witnesses to beauty & life. nature does this intrinsically.

at my previous home, i’d go for walks that included a steep hill. in certain months, greeting me at the top, were what i understand to be, these gorgeous Royal Cape Plumbago. 

keep the faith & hope, friends. there is beauty, there is life, & they are worth bearing witness to, being in solidarity with, & speaking & standing up for – & they are present in all the people being marginalized, targeted, & harmed. may we see this clearly & may our hearts open to all who suffer.

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#beauty #RoyalCapePlumbago #photography #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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love your neighbor.

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#LoveYourNeighbor #nature #BWphotography #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“Every person’s concept of god is too small.”

~ Sir John Templeton

humility before the Great Mystery, the Great Love.

may we maintain, as it is said in Zen, “a beginner’s mind” & the humility of a child, as Jesus instructed his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew. though they may be precious & beneficial for us on our path, let us not hold too tightly to our personal, revelatory experiences in life, in prayer, & meditation. rather, may we have the awareness & wisdom to know that the Great Love meets everyone where they are, in the way they need, when they are ready to hear, see, & allow their heart to open to it. may we do the same, instruments of love, meeting all where they are with warmth of heart, shining light into darkness.

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#God #UltimateReality #love #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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though much of what we see around us paints a dark picture for the near & perhaps long future, may we remember that it isn’t the whole story, & certainly not the end of the story, a story each of us has a part in writing. may we write our part with love.

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#love #PlantingSeeds #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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happy & blessed Autumn Equinox friends. may the equal parts light & dark, be a reminder of balance. may the inevitability of impermanence & change be a reminder that even tyrants, empires, & other oppressive forces can’t last. so let us plant ourselves in love which has no beginning & no end.

⭕️🧡🙏🏼

#AutumnEquinox #Fall #enso #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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we can allow our suffering to open our hearts, to widen our awareness of others who also suffer. this strengthens our ability to empathize with others. our suffering can be an empathetic bridge to connecting with others & recognizing our shared experience in this life. when we see each other fully like this with open, empathetic hearts, we see allies instead of enemies. we can see this in groups like Mothers’ Call, made up of Israel’s Women Wage Peace & in the Palestinian women’s movement, Women of the Sun. mothers, tired of seeing their children die, connecting with other mothers tired of seeing their children die due to violent conflict. maybe all of these male leaders should take a seat & follow the lead of mothers.

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#suffering #empathy #love #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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when will our hearts no longer be ruled by tyrants & their manipulative mosaic of lies, but by the love found within the depths of our hearts, that is of one piece & the source of all things?

we know in our hearts that bombing children is wrong. we know starving children is wrong. forcing them into migration is wrong. we know that caging children & separating them from their families is wrong. we know withholding needed medical & food aid from children is wrong. we know that sex trafficking children is wrong. we know that normalizing of such atrocities is wrong. so why do we continue to accept & excuse all the blather for these atrocities, from leaders who have the power to choose otherwise?

it’s nonsense. for the sake of so many suffering, for the sake of our humanity – of our own souls, we can’t continue to fall for it. there is no liberation without collective liberation. there is no true, whole, authentic love that excludes anyone. love is either all inclusive or it is not truly & wholely (or holy!) love. if God is love then God is love for all. otherwise, we have fallen to our knees for the god of tribalism, nationalism, ethnocentrism, & whatever else our egos construct. may we be free from the delusion of separateness that says we can love in pieces, love with bias, love with exclusion, love in fear, & love while marginalizing, targeting, oppressing, killing, & destroying.

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#GazaAndWestBank #Sudan #Congo #USA #JinpaLhaga #JMWart