what could be more powerful in the long run than the bravery of choosing to live with an open heart and a steady, balanced mind?
this is resilience for the long haul. it isn’t the flash of anger or burning hate which motivates some. they will not last, no one can on such a path, they burn up. it isn’t true power, it doesn’t align with life, it doesn’t move from love. given time, it consumes itself.
we practice to see clearly and be present with the way this world is, with the way life is right now in this moment, with compassion and wisdom, so that we can truly be of benefit. this is embodied love, this is true power.
may hearts open, may sanity arise, may we come home to ourselves and our true power which is love.
Happy Losar ལོ་གསར་ 2023 -Year of the Water Rabbit! 🐰
Losar is the Tibetan New Year.
may this year of the Water Rabbit bring blessings and good fortune to all. may sanity and compassion arise as our hearts open and we do the work of love for the benefit of all.
Tashi Delek!
བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏻
PS – You can also purchase this art on various products at my Redbubble store. Great gift ideas for family and friends born in the years 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023. See attached images. Direct link:
PPS – Patreon Members received a full size digital print of this art for the Lunar New Year. If you’d like to receive this and other free digital art prints, join today for as little as $3/month and you also have access to all past art gifts. Patreon link found here:
attempts by some forces to ban books, rewrite or erase history in their state’s educational systems.
my thoughts:
education regarding history and ideas isn’t meant to make us feel comfortable. it is meant to promote thinking, an opening to learn and expand our knowledge, to hear and learn the reality that has and is happening. only from that place can we make an informed decision about what kind of world we want to live in.
those that want to erase, rewrite, or cover over reality, because they are uncomfortable with what it says and want to control the narrative are causing harm, not just now in this moment, but for generations to come. a harm that can further the evils of oppression and solidify power to whom they choose. an uneducated populace is easy to control through propaganda.
those who love life, who are loyal to truth, who believe in democracy, who yearn to grow and for a more beneficial and inclusive reality must resist and push back.
i embrace solitude. it gifts space. space allows time to know intimately, and to heal.
solitude is often confused with loneliness, but they are different. loneliness is a shroud of untruth that can weigh heavy and dark. loneliness tells us we are alone and without. somehow on the outside of things. a wallflower, when everyone else is dancing. we don’t have to be alone to feel it. we can feel loneliness even while enveloped within a crowd.
whereas, with solitude there can be an awareness that we are never truly alone, rather we are a sacred part of this vast wide universe (perhaps multiverse!), surrounded by so much life. and yet it is intimate as well. this very body we inhabit is made of trillions of cells, all also imbued with Life and held together in Love. how can it get any more intimate? life in every cell, each connected to all other things – Life itself, interdependent and interconnected. as Thich Nhat Hanh has said, we “inter-are.” a luminous tapestry of Life formed and held together in Love.
it is unfortunate that we have built a culture of aloneness, of loneliness. one where we are often encouraged to go it alone, every person for themselves. what a lie. how cruel.
so when we feel loneliness, may we simply stop and breathe, and open our awareness to the feeling of our breath, the beating of our heart, trillions of cells working to support Life – their life, our life. and around us, plants, animals, all a part of the same diverse, beautiful tapestry. and then other people, our coworkers, acquaintances, friends, family. we can wish for them that they do not feel loneliness, just as we wish to not feel loneliness.
we will all feel loneliness from time to time, i suspect. we should honor how we feel and hold it with tenderness. but we don’t have to believe or hold onto the lie. we can let go of it. we can reach out in love, to ourselves, to others, even the little ant scurrying by, or the fly on the wall. we are in this together.
know in your heart that you are not alone.
“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
how many mass shootings should an individual have to survive in their lifetime? 1? 2? 3?
there have been 67 mass shootings so far in 2023 (mass shooting defined as a single event with at least four people shot whether killed or injured). up from last year at this time.
your very heart dear friends, even with all of its wounds and scars, remains a touchstone to the Love which is the source of all things. do not underestimate the resilience of this fist size muscle within your chest, and it’s capacity to hold all that life brings and offer back.
your vulnerability (and by that i mean openness), your tenderness and gentleness, your generosity and compassion are the very strengths and healing antidote the wounds of this world need.
may the love celebrated this day, open us to the Great Love of all days and all moments throughout and beyond time and space.
“Why do you so earnestly seek the truth in distant places? Look for delusion and truth in the bottom of your own hearts.” ~ Ryōkan
it is said we have all that we need right here in this body, in this moment, with these experiences and relationships in life, to wake up, steady our minds, and open our hearts.
The Metta Garden 