amazing. what grace is this that we have within us, within this very heart, in all of its vulnerability and tenderness, the tremendous strength, bravery, and resilience needed to embody love into this world, to bring healing and peace to this world in spite of all the ignorance, fear, aggression and destruction…if we are willing to. if we are willing to feel, if we are willing to do something.
may we awaken, may our hearts open, may wisdom arise, and may the world benefit from our presence and love.
this moment in time is so fraught with reactive energy, with anger. emotions are high, and for a good reason, because there is much suffering. but in the heat of it all, there is a blindness to empathy for one another.
i’ve seen people be attacked from all sides just expressing empathy for the suffering. for expressing their love and empathy for their Jewish friends, for expressing their opposition to anti-Semitism and horror of the attacks on Oct. 7th. for expressing their empathy and deep concern for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, especially the children and families in Gaza dying by the thousands, and their opposition to Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiments. some have expressed that they’ve felt frozen, because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing in the face of so much suffering. i know i have felt that way at times as well. threading an impossible needle of empathy and love.
i think this quote embodies some beneficial advice at this time. advise that i am attempting to use to guide my words and actions.
may we move in the direction of love, of empathy and compassion towards all who are suffering without discrimination or favor, leaving no one out.
as astonishing as it may be, such a position will be unfavorable to some. we can’t please everyone. however, our loyalty, our vow, our practice is to embody love and healing in this world for all who need it. so walk, speak, offer your hands, your art, your heart and mind in service to the transformative power of love.
beyond the duality and delusion is oneness. we are interdependent. we are family. we are in this together.
we would benefit from more deep looking and less bypassing and dissonance.
there is a desperate need for compassion at this moment, born from empathy.
and where empathy is not readily available, usually due to our own bias, blindness or lack of imagination, we should seek to have understanding. we can do this by bearing witness, deeply paying attention, through mindful looking and mindful listening while maintaining an open heart.
maybe then we can see through the delusions that continue to cause and perpetuate harm, the delusion that we are somehow separate, rather than of one family, of one life.
All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.
~ St. Francis of Assisi
in the face of so much mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering, may we be embodiments of love and wisdom, lighting the path toward ending suffering, not adding to it.
The Metta Garden 