“The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.
~Yasutani Roshi
our suffering can be traced back to the misunderstanding that we are separate from other life, rather than intricately & interdependently connected. this misunderstanding leads to an underlying unease that brings about a grasping of things we think will make us feel safe & whole, & an aggression – pushing things away – of anything or anyone that appears to threaten this sense of separate self we think we have. anything uncomfortable is pushed away. so we end up ping-ponging back & forth between these two in how we relate to each other & our world. it leads to a kind of neurosis, a paranoia & desperation. but it doesn’t have to be this way. we can become aware once again of our intrinsic nature which is one of union & wholeness, of open-heartedness & ease. then we can live from such spaciousness, reminding the world of its beauty, its true nature & origin in love.
can we include everything in our practice of love? even the imperfections – the parts that have fallen away from love & out of harmony? can we open our heart to our own supposed brokenness & that of others? are we able to have the capacity of heart to include the things that may stretch our willingness to love & are just outside of our understanding?
can we see that all of this is sacred grist for the mill?
we are called to be alchemists in a way, to love our neighbor no matter. it is only with an open heart of love that we begin to see that everyone & everything is our neighbor.
& perhaps it is only in such love – a love that doesn’t condone harm & falsity, yet remains open & free from constriction – that those who may be lost in anger & hate, find transformation, healing, & home.
may we be instruments of such love in our time, speaking the truth of love & protecting the vulnerable.
“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”
~ Pablo Neruda
have hope friends, in the turning of seasons & the turning of hearts. life itself is potential & opportunity manifest. all of life comes together to support the return of balance & forward movement. flowing, flowing.
every word & action of love in this world counts & can be of benefit. do what you can, where you are, with what is happening in the moment, & with whomever is present.
our power comes from love, & it is discovered & motivated by befriending ourselves, opening our heart, & bearing witness to the world – seeing, listening, opening to what is happening, where there is need for care & healing. then we act from that space with mindfulness, confidence, wisdom, & compassion.
we don’t need to follow the crowd, or be peer pressured.
it’s #TransDayOfRemembrance. a day to remember & honor all those who have had their lives taken through anti-trans violence.
i recognize, honor, celebrate the sacredness of & stand in solidarity with my trans friends & all trans people. they are my neighbor & i will continue to love them.
meanwhile Trump/MAGA lawmakers & the GOP are scapegoating/targeting the trans community w/ threatening rhetoric & proposed policies that would strip trans people of their rights & access to needed medical care.
imagine attacking a group of people who only make up 1.6% of the population & are already victims of hate & violence. it’s cruel & absent of love, harmful & complicit in deaths.
instead of attacking 1.6% of the population for being trans, here are some issues that actually need attention instead:
-16.9% of children in the US fall below poverty line.
-20% of children in the US don’t get enough food & don’t know where their next meal will come from.
-5% of children in the US don’t have access to healthcare.
may hearts open, may love prevail, & may we get our priorities straight.
“Tenderly I now touch all things, knowing one day, we will part.” ~ St. John of The Cross
one thing those who hoard & cling to power seem to always forget, is that all of this will fade away. their wealth, their power will not last. nothing material lasts. our bodies, our lives, & all the items we collect are of the nature to end. no matter who we are, where we are, or what we believe about what happens after this life, this one particular life we are currently living has a limited amount of time. perhaps somewhere deep down the people who hoard or cling to power do know this, perhaps this is why they are so desperate. no matter how much we cling or hoard, it cannot stop the inevitable. awareness of this, of our impermanence, can be a gift though just like this life, because it helps us to see how sacred this life is, how it is something to be cherished, how time is not to be wasted, how vital love is in how we relate to this world & all within it. money & constructed power fade, but the genuine power of our words & actions when born of love ripple through the lives of all that is around us into eternity.
The Metta Garden 