my heart grieves the war in Ukraine. like so many, i don’t have the answers for how this should be handled or what the endgame may be. it feels ominous & dark. i grieve the loss of life & harm, the destruction, the millions of refugees added to the already 84 million refugees worldwide from other catastrophes & wars not getting the same attention.

i feel like the world is failing the Ukrainians, as the world has failed & is failing so many other people. yes, much is being done & there has been extraordinary unity. yet here we are watching what may be the decimation of a country at the hands of a madman who doesn’t care about the cost.

what to do? engage directly & chance World War III, nuclear war? the world is being bullied by a madman dangling these threats & Ukrainians are left feeling abandoned. it feels like failure, a loss for the world. it very well may be. an energy of authoritarianism is on the rise. authoritarianism must lose in Ukraine, in the US & around the world. existence may be on a precipice. there’s such great need for creative problem solving, resilience, sanity & yes – love.

so what to do? i’m leaning in on meditation, opening my heart, sharing these practices w/ others, creating & sharing art. looking to the helpers as Mr. Rogers would say, the courageous & resilient Ukrainians, Russian soldiers abandoning their posts, Russian citizens bravely protesting under oppression & danger, people around the world saying, “NO, this isn’t acceptable.” asking myself what it looks like to be a helper in this situation.

i’m thinking of the three poisons – ignorance, attachment & aggression. how these are the root cause of the suffering we see. how to end them? i begin w/ myself. my mind & heart. may i have a mind of sanity & balance, an heart open & brave that gives rise to fierce compassion, love embodied, in action, not indifferent or sedentary.

there’s still love, light, beauty & joy. may this be our path, may the destruction & harm end, may sanity arise, may hearts open, may transformation & healing of suffering be our journey’s end.

~j

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