surely in our anger, in our aggression, in our bitterness and despair we have forgotten that not even our next breath is guaranteed. we live as if our words are empty and actions can be undone. we live as if we have an infinite number of tomorrows when all the while death is standing on the other side of the door. everything counts, every moment is sacred. live with gratitude, joy, kindness, compassion, peace, and wisdom – for these are love.
~ j
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
i don’t normally write about politics, but as it relates to spirituality and as that relates to issues of peace and social justice, which i am passionate about, i feel it is appropriate to express that realtionship here.
please read if you wish…
a beautiful sentiment…and we all know how i love beautiful sentiment. unfortunately cheapened and loses credibility knowing that the Romney/Ryan ticket would pursue a constitutional amendment to ban a group of tax paying citizens the same privilege granted other tax paying citizens to marry and fully express that love of which she speaks ~ “I want to talk to you tonight about that one great thing that unites us, that one thing that brings us our greatest joy when times are good, and the deepest solace in our dark hours. Tonight I want to talk to you about love.” ~ Anne Romney
i have plenty of friends who are Conservative and plenty of friends who are Christian. all beautiful people. and many of them are an exception to what i’m about to say and i’m so thankful for their loving presence in this world. sometimes, though, it feels as though the Republican Party has hijacked Christianity and Christianity has hijacked Jesus.
my two cents. ignore the titles and labels and look to the fruit of philosophy, the action to the words. Love does not separate and Love does not create classes of people with different privileges or rights associated to them. Love is not so fragile and fearful that it has to cling to tribalism, or an “us and them” delusion. that’s dualism. dualism is fine for elementary school religion and spiritual infancy. but there is a Love that holds all of this world in its wounded glory and it is always available to those who seek it, to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
it’s time we grow up.
namaste
~ j
August 28, 2012
dear ones ~
i recently read that gun sales were up triple in 2011 of what they were in 2010. what does this say?
who are we arming ourselves against?
what are we arming ourselves against?
i am reminded of one of my favorite Zen stories…it is as follows:
A village was warned that a vicious warlord and his soldiers were coming to destroy the town, so they all fled. All except one old monk, that is, who stayed meditating in the temple. When the warlord came in and saw him, he drew his sword, pointed it at his heart and said angrily, “Don’t you know I can run you through without batting an eye?!” The old monk looked up at him and calmly replied, “And don’t you know that I can be run through without batting an eye?” The warlord bowed before the presence of this old monk and left. Such courage, composure, and non-attachment can be ours.
namaste, dear friends.
peace to you as we wake up to this spacious and available place of nonviolence and no fear – as we wake up to who we are!
~ j
August 28, 2012
…i just heard an ad that said, “Eighty percent of feeling good is looking good”…hint hint – so buy our product.
really?
good luck with that.
when it fails, i’ll be here ready to share a Treasure that has no need to be sold…
Our practice continues off the cushion, not just in our contemplation, but in every action that follows. It reminds me of when I went to church as a kid and they would remind us that it wasn’t just a “Sunday thing”…True practice lives in every moment and so does the possibility of awareness and enlightenment.
~ j
a meditation ~
“Aware of your own breathing, connecting to each present moment. Breathing in, breathing out. These moments, each moment, is a reminder that we are alive. The person next to us is alive, the tree reaching for the sun is alive, the bird singing her song is alive, and we together with them are Life. Aware of that, we are also aware that we are never alone, but are always surrounded by Life.”
~ j
thoughts on fidelity…
by jaysen waller
…it seems to me, that if you are fortunate enough in this life to have even one person hand you their heart, allowing that vulnerability and choosing you and you in turn have accepted this gift, this offering, then hold it with the utmost care. with awareness, honor this heart laid bare. be of good character, acting with integrity and honesty. and when the relationship has found its conclusion, end it with tenderness and grace as you found it, before moving forward with another. such wounding can be so harmful and trust is incredibly difficult to regain…
…but then again, what do i know? i have yet to experience such a blessing in this life. perhaps the first heart that entwines with mine will find itself run over rather quickly. but if i do such a thing, please form a line and proceed to punch me in the stomach one by one, because i’m pretty sure this is what it feels like to be cheated on…
a bowl of mac ‘n cheese…
i do love mac ‘n cheese. it is a comfort food, for sure, and one reason why i still cannot consider myself vegan. i don’t eat it often and i am not a big fan of dairy, but it does find its way to my table every once in a while.
i have been trying to be more mindful when eating, taking notice and taking time, letting each bite reveal a little bit of life’s mystery as my body gains some nourishment. so, tonight with my mac ‘n cheese before me, i embarked to find awareness.
the first thought was, not surprisingly, “this is just a bowl of mac ‘n cheese.” followed by, “AND it looks delicious – i’m hungry!”
i set out anyway…looking deeply at the pasta i coould see that it is made of unleavened dough of wheat probably, mixed with some flour, water, and egg. looking deeper into those ingredients i could see that the wheat had to be grown, in a field where it received sunlight and water, without which it couldn’t survive. it grew out of soil that houses insects who burrow oxygenating and making it the perfect place for this wheat to grow. and then there is the farmer who owns the land and the workers of the land who assist in the farming. this doesn’t even address of course the eggs which came from chickens who also need sun and water and ranchers. chickens, mind you, that eat grain and feed that also need the right environment and nutrients to grow and be farmed – farmed using equipment that some genius developed, perhaps through trial and error and the help of other people. and then there is also the cow who produced the milk that with assistance and ingenuity has become cheese…oh, yes – the cow also requires sun and water and feed, etc. etc. etc.
looking deeply, i can also see that someone created this popular dish at some point and many others have contributed to the recipe that sat before me, before i ate it…out of a bowl made in China…you get the picture.
all of this and the staff at Sprouts where it was purchased by my sister with money that was given for jobs that i wouldn’t have or she wouldn’t have if it weren’t for people wanting our work.
so what i came to realize on a heart level, welling with gratitude, was what i have known on an intellectual level but hadn’t felt so deeply…this bowl didn’t hold just mac n’ cheese within it’s curved walls, it contained the sun, the rain, sacrifice, hard work, ingenuity and generosity…indeed, it contained the entire world.
~ j
i was pulling out of the McDonald’s parking lot, after a failed attempt to ween myself from the consumption of an iced vanilla coffee (a relatively inexpensive treat ~ a cost more to my health than my wallet).
it was then that i saw her, with her curly, gray-blond hair falling to her shoulders. she was wearing comfortable pants a little high of her ankles, her feet within well-worn sneakers, and her eyes viewing the world through simple-framed glasses. she stood there, wrapped in a wool wrap at the exit of the parking lot.
no chance, really, to avoid her wanting gaze. nor did i want to. on the contrary, my heart felt drawn to her. i found myself noticing her beauty. she didn’t seem quite homeless, perhaps just down ‘n out – a victim of these challenging economic times.
i looked in my wallet, finding just a couple of 1’s and a 5 dollar bill. normally, i’d not think twice about keeping the 5 where it was and releasing the 1’s to a new home. after all, i live paycheck to paycheck like many. but this time i thought, “what the heck. i’ll give her the 5. she needs it more than i, no doubt.”
i wish i could say this was all ego-less generosity born out of my heart’s evergrowing compassion, but i’m pretty sure it was my ego, indeed, that was looking forward to seeing her notice it was a 5 dollar bill rather than a 1 dollar bill.
i rolled down my window and handed her the 5 dollar bill along with a smile. she readily received the 5, smiled in return with pleasant appreciation. then, as if trying to reassure me of my contribution to her need, she said, “thank you. every little bit counts.”
every little bit counts?!
ha! i drove away with a huge smile, a laugh, and joy in my heart. the little quirky, down ‘n out beauty gave me a great gift…an ego reality check and a moment of zen.
The Metta Garden 