Practice is allowing everything in your life to wake you up.

~ Mirabai Bush

#practice #meditation #WakeUp #SitDownAndRiseUp #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

Well, maybe the end is upon you.

What then?

Repeat after me, it goes:

“I won’t stop loving.

I won’t stop loving.”

You don’t have to be perfect.

You don’t have to play well.

You don’t have to fix everything,

all by yourself.

…Repeat after me, it goes:

“I won’t stop loving.

I won’t stop loving.”

…The sun will still rise.

The sun will still rise.

~

Holcombe Waller

from song “Hardliners”

on album “Into the Dark Unknown”

*note: no relation to me as far as i know, but really great album! 👍🏻

#JustAsYouAre #OpenHeart #love #life #sunlight #light #hope #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #Zen #enso #JMWart

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

~ Howard Zinn

hope burns bright and breathes new life.

~j

#hope #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #J

“Is the dark side stronger?”

~ Luke

“No…no…no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”

~ Yoda

events seem to be unfolding so quickly and from outside observation seem to favor at times a more aggressive, loud, indifferent and at times cruel and dishonest approach. this can feel overwhelming and disheartening when we are more concerned with truth and non-harming.

but life has a way of regaining balance in the long arc of things. that which burns most aggressively and fast, will also burn out sooner. nothing lasts forever, even power and cruelty.

breathing. keeping focused. keeping our hearts open, our bravery quivering, with patience and endurance – compassion, kindness, and peace will prevail.

~j

#patience #endurance #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #light #TheForce #OpenHeart #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhist #enso #JMWart

“No one lives outside the walls of this sacred place, existence.”

~ Saint Francis of Assisi

who stands outside of your circle of compassion? can you imagine a circle of compassion where no one stands outside it it?

~j

#sacred #life #compassion #AllPeople #AllLife #interdependence #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

We say, to shine one corner of the world — that is enough. Not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.

~Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

there’s a lot going on, in our personal lives, and in the world at large. so much suffering, but also much beauty and joy. the suffering can seem overwhelming, so many conflicts. it’s impossible to take it all on, but it is fully possible to make it clear where we are, to keep our hearts open where we are, to shine our light where we are.

~j

#shine #sun #light #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #MindfulResistance #SitDownRiseUp #Zen #Buddhism #JMWphotography #BWphotography #photography

as we celebrate our love of country and our independence, may we in our love commit to healing wounds of our past, and strive tirelessly to keep tyranny at bay, living up to and embodying our highest ideals both in ourselves and as a nation.

~j

…..

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

~

Emma Lazarus

#July4th #JulyFourth #IndependenceDay #USA #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #FamiliesBelongTogether #NoBansNoWalls #NoMuslimBan #MindfulResistance #SitDownRiseUp #JMWart

A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms.

~

Sensei Ogui, Zen Shin

be you, be beautiful – bloom!

~j

#JustThis #BeYou #unique #beauty #presence #life #flower #nature #buddhanature #bodhicitta #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

“Compassion is not just an emotion one might feel after reading something sad or heartbreaking. Our compassion is a source of energy and strength. It is the basis for our actions in the world.”

~ Tai Moses

compassion, our strength and energy.

anger cannot fuel a movement for justice and peace for very long. if left untransformed, it harms all. as the Buddha is quoted as saying, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

so we must allow our heart to soften and be uncomfortable, we must allow ourselves to really see and have a view that is vast and includes all who suffer – drawing on empathy, inspiring compassion.

then, allowing our anger to transform we can put this valuable energy into beneficial action. this is our compassion, which will fuel us for much longer and discontinue the cycle harm.

~j

#compassion #strength #energy #anger #PlantingSeeds #TheLongArc #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

Compassion is a verb.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

#Meditate and #resist w/ #MindfulResistance. #SitDownAndRiseUp #PlantingSeeds for #TheLongArc.

#OpenHearts will prevail w/ #FierceCompassion.

#Bodhisattvas w/ #courage leading the way.

may it be so.

~j

#EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Enso #JMWart