one year ends & another begins. life is a series of endings & beginnings. may our compassion accompany all.

Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion in Buddhism. featured here w/ multiple arms, often depicted w/ 1000 arms, each there to reach out into the world, to relieve suffering. in China they are depicted as Guanyin, she who hears the cries of the world, vowing to not rest until suffering is relieved.

these figures & stories can be seen as representations of what already resides in us, in our hearts. we can be the embodied compassion of Avalokiteshvara. we too can reach our arms out into the world, hear the cries of the world & answer the call, going where needed, relieving suffering. sometimes that place is our own hearts. we bring compassion to ourselves as well as to others.

we are living in a time of much loss, personal & collective. we are living in a time of heightened fear & existential crisis. this leads to increased stress & many respond to this w/ aggression, but compassion is what is needed for ourselves & others (sometimes fierce compassion re: need for social justice, preventing authoritarianism, attending to the climate crisis). compassion must be our fuel for the work that is calling us or we will burn out, when our light is most needed.

may we hold all that has passed & all that is to be w/ such compassion. we can do so w/ practice, w/ settled minds & open hearts. we are made of love & when we settle, when we allow ourselves to be w/ vulnerability, tenderness, spaciousness & open hearts, our compassion naturally arises to answer the call.

May our hearts remain open
May our minds be balanced & at ease
May we rest in Love & be fueled by compassion
May our luminosity shine brightest in the darkest night.

Happy New Year, dear friends!

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

*you can have this photography as a print or on various products found at JMWart, my online Redbubble store. you can visit directly at JMWart.redbubble.com or via my website (www.jaysenwaller.com) 👍🏻🙏🏻

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