Author: jaysen

this shared Life…

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flowers of gratitude

“Destiny itself is like a wonderful wide tapestry in which every thread is guided by an unspeakably tender hand, placed beside another thread, and held and carried by a hundred others.”
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
 
 

what have i done that i should wake with
breath filling my lungs?
what have i done that i should feel the
warm sun kiss my back,
the cool breeze tease across
my face?

what have i done that i my feet should
walk upon this earth and
feel its strong embrace,
holding each step?

what have i done to hear the
songs of birds or
see the dedicated work of
bees and ants?

to find comfort in
music?
to dream in
art?

what have i done to know friendship and
love

LOVE
in the deepest places of my heart, that
it has no choice but
to sing its song to every cell in
this body

THIS BODY
that too has been
given,
this body

THIS BODY
made of so many other little bodies in
this shared Life?

YES
this shared Life.

nothing.

it is all Gift.

~j

 

November 28, 2013
Thanksgiving & Hanukkah

all shall be well…

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AutumnMeditation

 

November 14, 2013

i look outside and see beautiful yellowed green trees gently dancing with the breeze
i see rugged brown mountains dotted with rock, standing still, standing strong
i see a vast blue sky almost glowing vibrant with possibility
nature, once again, stands hand in hand reminding us what is always
HERE
nature doesn’t hold, it let’s go and just flows
if that is not grace, i don’t know what is

“all shall be well…”

~ j

 

*“all shall be well…” is a celebrated phrase of the 14th Century Christian Mystic, Julian of Norwich, from her collection of “Showings”

a teaching ~ an act of conscience…

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PrayingHands

 

“It is not an untrammeled market economy that is going to redeem our world. It is not strategies of aggression, domination, and repression that are going to make us safe. The secret to transforming the world, the key to security and safety, lies in cooperation and collaboration. It lies in compassion for all beings in the wider web of life, and in generosity and love channeled into selfless action on behalf of people we will never know or see.”

~ Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, “An Act of Conscience”

the choice…

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LovePeaceHope

 
there is always a choice to choose the positive, to work within the great artistry of hope. there is also the choice to focus on the negative, to undermine and work for the purpose of failure, to lie in bed with cynicism.
 
…before making that choice, it helps to remember that everything – EVERY THING you have is a Gift. yes, it is good if you have worked hard and achieved. but remind the ego that you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the stars, the minerals, the elements, if it weren’t for the biology, the chemistry, or your ancestors. all of these have given the right circumstances, the perfect combination of Gift that has afforded the opportunity for you to manifest in this life, in this world at this time.
 
now, take a deep breath and go do some good. work for good. work for peace. work for community. work for kindness and compassion. be a servant to Love. and then see, yes see, all the beauty you bring to Life.
 
~ j

carry the Lamp of Love…

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candle light
 
 
 
slowly and steadily, with an open and steadfast heart,
carry the Lamp of Love.
 
even while chaos storms around you,
ground yourself in your breath – your true home.
touch nature. be still and listen.
 
then in your peace, your kindness, and your compassion
you will shine bright as a beacon.
 
and the world will wonder why it ever chose
to do anything other than
love love love.
 
~ j

to be a warrior…

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ONEenso

“…the practice, for me, is about creating the kind of resilience or buoyancy where you can be present to bear witness to the truth of suffering.”
~ Roshi Joan Halifax
 
i read this in an interview today. it struck me, stopped me really. … woke me up a bit to this call of warriorship. to be a warrior. and it seems very real to me that to truly be compassionate – which to be true, must include all – takes the heart of a warrior. the courage to BE with pain, to BE with suffering. to BE with it as a witness. the only way to get there is to train, to practice – to just do it.

it is, it seems to me, the courage to recognize that whether in our joy or suffering, we are One. there is no division, no duality. just One.

it is why i practice Buddhism, it is why i still love the teachings of Jesus who aligned himself with the poor and those who were outcasts. it is why i find the words of the current Pope encouraging.

and when it seems impossible to live this Compassion, to live as One, we can take comfort and encouragement in each other as we practice together.

 
~ j

windows (shall we dare?)…

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fullwindowmediation

September 11, 2013

 

…still so present

…still so fresh
after all of these years…

 

eyes frozen on images, pulling at my heart, calling on my soul to…to what?  jump up?  to hide?  to fight?

this chest heavy, this throat tight – choked with emotion.  this heart trying to hold it all…

the fear, the anger, the grief.


do me a favor will you?

let us sit.  together.  let us sit and invite these emotions to be our friends, our teachers, shall we?

before we act out of turn, let us allow time and space to do their work, for the fear, the anger, and the grief to shed their weight and reveal their gifts.  shall we?

even as the door to our heart begins to close under the overwhelming burden of it all, even as our chests tighten again and our tears freely flow, let us allow a window in our heart to open.

a window for fear, a window for anger, a window for grief. 


shall we dare?


even as we feel fear, we can allow a window in our heart to open to all others who feel fear – fear of loss, fear of age and illness, fear of death…
even as we feel anger, we can allow a window in our heart to open to all others who feel anger – anger at loss, anger at injustice, anger at feeling powerless…
even as we feel grief, we can allow a window in our heart to open to all others who feel grief – grief for loved ones gone, grief for dreams not lived, grief for the mortality of life…


shall we dare?


shall we dare Life, even in the most tragic of circumstances, to reveal Her Beauty?

if we dare to open the windows of our hearts
if we dare to allow such nakedness – such vulnerability
if we dare to open our eyes – to see how we all suffer the same fear, the same anger, the same grief…

then, even as the Lotus growing out of the mud, reaches up revealing Life’s Beauty
we, too, can grow from the darkest and most tragic places in life, revealing that we are also capable of Beauty


shall we dare?


~ j