we have the incredible privilege of using our words and our actions in a way that embody love and benefit this world. no matter the size of our platform, or the reach of the light we shine, when we speak we can ask ourselves, “is this love?” and when we act we can ask ourselves, “is this love?”
each word, each action is a seed planted. are we planting seeds that harm and destroy or seeds that benefit and heal? what example are we setting? are we embodying love?
emotional maturity is a practice. speaking and acting with responsibility is a practice. nonaggression is a practice.
A big, tough Samurai once went to see a little monk.
“Monk!”
He barked, in a voice accustomed to instant obedience.
“Teach me about heaven and hell!”
The Monk looked up at the mighty warrior and replied with utter disdain,
“Teach you about heaven and hell? I couldn’t teach you about anything. You’re dumb. You’re dirty. You’re a disgrace, an embarrassment to the samurai class. Get out of my sight. I can’t stand you.”
The Samurai got furious. He shook, red in the face, speechless with rage. He pulled out his sword, and prepared to slay the Monk.
Looking straight into the Samurai’s eyes, the Monk said softly,
“That’s hell.”
The Samurai froze, realizing the compassion of the Monk who had risked his life to show him hell! He put down his sword and fell to his knees, filled with gratitude.
The Monk said softly,
“And that’s heaven.”
Commentary:
do we want to create hell or heaven? the celebrated Franciscan, Richard Rohr put it this way, “What we don’t transform, we transmit.”
like all emotions, anger carries an energy, a particularly intense and hot energy. if we don’t meet our anger with skillful means – mindfulness and an open heart – we can burn ourselves and those around us up. anger not attended to, can be harmful and destructive to ourselves and others. it can lead to aggression, violence, and suffering. we can become stuck and lose ourselves, becoming ghosts of who we once were.
we can, however, meet anger with open-heartedness, understanding, and compassion, we can look deeply into anger mindfully. perhaps the anger is pointing to a deeper unresolved fear or hurt. perhaps anger manifests because we see an injustice or harm taking place. the energy of the anger can be used as a motivator to end the harm. anger can be our wake up call that something needs to be taken care of.
~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻
*come sit with me this weekend for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays at 10am PT as we practice meditation. free or by donation. $10 suggested. link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller
join me this weekend for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays at 10am PT for a 1 hour guided Mindfulness Awareness and Lovingkindness meditation practice. no prior experience necessary. sessions are free or by donation, $10 suggested.
here’s a poem i wrote some time ago out of personal experience that i think speaks to the challenges and heartache of this time of loss for so many. how do we engage our losses, our heartache, our suffering? can we see the value of our heartache, our tenderness and vulnerability?
in a relative way, labels have a function and can be useful. we use them to communicate and to understand a particular aspect or aspects of something or someone, but labels are limiting and not representative of the entirety of something or someone, which is to say – the absolute truth, which is far more spacious and expansive than mere words or concepts can hold. the absolute can’t be held (so let go!).
when we view something or someone, we can also drop the labels, the story, and just experience them.
this can be a practice. dropping our labels and instead, just experiencing something or someone as they are, without thinking, investigating, analyzing, critiquing, judging, and simply allow space for the object or being to speak to us, to reveal themselves to us, to be truly seen by us.
yes, meditation practice can bring benefits such as reduced stress, reduced tension and blood pressure, improved focus, improved memory and sleep. these are great! but ultimately, this practice is a practice of love. a practice of loving this life. we are here in this life and to be with it, in each moment, offering our attention to it, offering our open heart to it, in all of its ways with all we are experiencing, is not just a brave way to be or a gracious way to be, it is a loving way to be.
~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻
i’m guiding mindfulness awareness and loving kindness meditations today, Sunday, at 10am PT. if you’d like to join me for free or by donation ($10 suggested) click link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller
we are here. now. just this moment, these feelings, these thoughts, this health, these relationships, this state of world. where else can we go? where else can we practice our love, our compassion, our patience, our tenderness, our curiosity, our bravery? where else can spaciousness and awareness arise? where else can life be?
the past is a ghost, the future is a dream. the present is life. if we want to live, we engage our lives here, where we are, in this moment, with how we feel, what we are thinking, who we are with, and on and on. this is the practice, returning to this moment, offering our attention to it, offering our open heart to it, offering our life to it.
~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻
want to practice together? join me for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays this weekend at 10am PT. free or by donation. $10 suggested.