the great discovery is that love is the foundation of all things – the ultimate reality, that within us we have this love available. we are never far from it, because ultimately it is who we are.
we are expressions of and participants, dancing the dance within the music of love.
the great responsibility we have, is our choosing to embody this love with awareness, with intention, through our words and actions.
how fortunate are we?!
let us move with confidence as we keep dancing the dance, lovers.
every year on #MLKday i recommend and earnestly encourage the reading of The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (edited by Clayborne Carson). to read his words not just as selected quotes or memes, but in full context is profoundly beneficial. this volume holds a sacred spot on my bookshelf and has for many years. please add it to your collection, if you haven’t already, and even more so, please read it. it is a collected works of love and wisdom, of real truth speaking and luminosity.
Dr. King was truly a bodhisattva and prophet. he was also a husband, a father, and a friend. a human being that knew history, the human condition, and listened to the voice that is at times still and quiet, and at times roaring, that calls us to Love in the most real, profound, and sacred meaning of the word.
may we listen, ingest, and be transformed by his words everyday. the long arc is possible only through the open hearts of those who take up the message of love and embody it through true justice, which is the only path to true peace.
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
~
Bertrand Russell
no fear.
only love.
a recipe for action, for how to relate to and live in the world.
this begins with a practice of stopping before reacting out of fear. stopping allows for space, space allows for awareness to arise, awareness allows for wisdom to arise.
stopping also means allowing for the feeling of fear, the feeling of discomfort. this takes courage and patience, this takes trust.
violence doesn’t bring healing. violence brings more suffering.
may we be open to feeling, to vulnerability, to the rawness of pain, and the tenderness of our hearts.
may we be patient and generous, allowing time, and process, growth and transformation.
may we be brave enough to step forward into and through our journey with grief, as teacher, as friend, as companion.
and may we remember, grief is not just sadness. grief comes to life in many other ways as well, in smiles and laughter, in memory and deep abiding love.
though there may be few circumstances when force is necessary to end egregious harm, it’s delusion to think aggression and violence are ever a genuine or long term solution.
even in so called justified circumstances, with such force, seeds for future violence have been sown.
may hearts open, may wisdom arise, may calmer minds prevail.
let’s make a practice of it, allowing what we see and experience to open our hearts, rather than close them, to soften us rather than harden us.
this suffering world doesn’t need anymore people moving from a space of hate, vengeance, aggression, and violence. it doesn’t need anymore people moving from a space of greed and power, of fear and asphyxiation.
this suffering world needs people who practice breathing freely, who practice peace within themselves, and bring that healing into the world, a people not afraid of opening, of vulnerability and gentleness, of compassion and love.
we cannot bring healing from a space of hate. we cannot be of help from a space of fear and tightening. we must move from a space of love, because it is only love, the foundation of all things, that is limitless and luminous. it is only love that will give us the strength, resilience, clarity, compassion and wisdom to survive.
the root of our suffering is our misconception of reality, the delusion that we are somehow separate, independent beings, rather than interdependent expressions of life through which one sacred love flows.
Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself, and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.
~ *Pope Francis
in Buddhism, this relationship is described as interdependence. we are in relationship with all life, offering and receiving. even life and death are a dance of offering and receiving. this, in my view, is love manifest and embodied, from us and life itself, recognized or not.
our suffering comes from our misunderstanding of this. in Buddhism we call this ignorance or delusion. in my Christian upbringing we call this sin, a state of disconnect (i.e. out of the Garden of Eden, another way of saying not in union, dualistic thinking).
this perceived separation from others and from other life is what causes us to harm and destroy, causing so much pain and suffering. it is what moves us to inflict harm and be indifferent to the suffering of others.
amazingly, we still have this core of who/what we are that in spite of such delusion, arises as empathy. empathy connects us to the tenderness/warmth in our heart, which calls forth compassion, which is love in action, connecting us to others and life. this awareness is where we find the wisdom to heal rather than destroy, to love rather than hate.
may our hearts open, may this awareness and wisdom arise. our survival depends on it.
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏼
*Please Note: based on multiple fact check sites, the above quote, although widely attributed to Pope Francis, is not verified to be an accurate attribution. There is no verified known author.
as imperfect as it is, i love our democracy and i’m devoted to the promised potential it has. i cannot have this day pass without recognizing the anniversary of the Jan 6th insurrection in 2021 following the 2020 Presidential election, especially with the growing percentage of Trump supporters who believe it was an inside job (25% of Americans in latest polling), who believe that it was instigated by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. i’m sharing my posts from the day as i watched. i won’t forget what i watched live that day (even on Fox News!). it is a lie promoted by Trump and his most devoted sycophants.
as concerning as it is, it isn’t surprising. the whole of Trump’s time leading up to, in, and post Presidency was prepping for a “reality” that is based on no facts and no truth, a non-reality fabricated over time, bit by bit, spoonful by spoonful, so it is dangerously barely noticed and even more dangerously, accepted. a fabricated non-reality where his lies don’t matter because “everyone does it” and there is no longer a verifiable truth, despite clear evidence to the contrary based on observable and verifiable facts. a world where you can’t trust your own eyes, ears, analytical mind. a nation primed for a “strong man” autocrat, dictator, who will simply tell you what to believe and will save you from the murkiness of it all.
i’m also sharing a couple of quotes and a beneficial book recommendation. this moment calls for our attention, our love, and best efforts. may hearts, eyes, and ears open. may wisdom arise, and may our democracy survive.
The Metta Garden 