access to power doesn’t last. for those who wield it, their time is finite. they fear this truth in their bones & they want us to think otherwise. but we, who find our source in love rather than fear, know differently. so, every time they turn out the light, we turn it back on – with our empathy, our kindness & compassion, our thoughtfulness & imagination, w/ our solidarity, resilience & bravery, planting seeds for the future we want, a future that prioritizes health & well-being, equity, justice, & happiness for everyone without exclusion.
celebrating friends is a beautiful & joy-filled practice.
happy debut novel release day to my dear friend, Veronica Bane!! 🤩DIFFICULT GIRLS is out today! 🎉
my preordered copy arrived at my doorstep AND i’m looking forward to attending a talk and book signing this Thurs 7/10 in Phoenix, AZ 🤗 if you’re in the area, come on by 👍🏼 or check out dates for a location near you.
so happy to celebrate Veronica! she’s not only one of the most generous hearted people i know, but also one of the most disciplined and dedicated to her passion and craft. bravo, friend! so happy for you and this moment!! 👏🏼♥️🙏🏼
loving each other into wholeness can be expressed in many different ways, i think. it can look different in different situations, depending on the need.
but it most certainly doesn’t look like assaulting & grabbing people off the streets & disappearing them, or relegating them to concentration camps, or modern-day enslavement, or cutting their healthcare & access to food assistance. these are examples of cruelty, a loss of humanity, & an affront to the soul.
let us choose love, not cruelty.
resist the darkness being celebrated. stand up, speak out on behalf of each other.
love knows no bounds.compassion is one piece. it seeks out & goes to any place where there is suffering & to anyone who is suffering. authentic, complete compassion has no bias, shows no favor. it simply, directly, & profoundly goes to where the suffering is. this is what we are called to embody.
so when we notice we are leaving someone or some group out, we know that we have fallen off the path, we have missed the mark, that our heart has remained closed to that person or group. if our heart has not fully opened, our expressed love is incomplete, & we have work to do on ourselves.
we cannot say we are fully loving or that our heart is fully opened in this country, if we support or are indifferent to the suffering of the immigrant, the suffering of the trans person, or the erasure of the history of Black, or Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ people, or the withholding of food & medicines from the sick, the elderly, the disabled, & children. to do so, is to not be on the side of love.
likewise, love is not limited by borders either whether physical or psychological, so may our hearts open to the cries of suffering from Texas, from Gaza, from Ukraine, from the Congo, from wherever & whomever they come. when they are silent may we be their voice. when they fall, may we lift them up & stand beside them, walking hand in hand in however that is possible.
i grieve this present moment. the amount of unnecessary suffering this administration is causing, that the Republicans are causing should not be underestimated. i have further thoughts for a post that will publish tomorrow. for now i’m sharing two links of two previous posts one regarding self-care during this challenging time & the other a list of organizations to put our efforts into to help us in this moment. we have each other, friends, & we must take care of each other.
may all be safe, healthy, at ease, and free from suffering.
yesterday felt like a pretty dark day. T is emboldened by Israel & Iran’s ceasefire compliance…for now (BUT we can’t get one for the Palestinians who continue to be killed & starved??). T is also emboldened by NATO countries’ increase in spending. but mostly, i think he is emboldened by SCOTUS’ decision, which seen in the light of their previous presidential immunity ruling, gives T almost king like power & even though it doesn’t quite go so far, he believes it does & will act as if so.
ugh.
BUT we still have the rights of speech & assembly even though they are being attacked. we still have a free press for now, & political opposition power – though it too is under attack with DHS already taking a swing at detaining & arresting Democratic Reps, Senators, Mayors, etc. & more than this, the vast majority of Americans, even some who voted for T, are deeply unhappy, concerned, & fearful of what is happening.
this is the time to speak out, to pressure lawmakers, to stand up, & participate in whatever activism we are able to participate in.
it’s a wasteland. it’s annihilation. all on our watch. and the number of those killed is likely much higher. my understanding is that bodies missing, likely under the rubble, are not counted as deaths. even though, family members know their loved ones are underneath the rubble. so the number likely is over 100,000, maybe even 200,000. feels as though it falls on deaf ears, but again – #CeasefireNow!
may hearts open ⭕️♥️🙏🏼
voteinorout: Drone footage released around mid-June 2025—marking more than 600 days since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, 2023—paints a stark picture of Gaza’s destruction.
Satellite and field assessments show between 63-69% of Gaza’s buildings, including over 175,000 structures, have been damaged or destroyed .
Israel maintains its bombing campaign targets Hamas military infrastructure, claiming militants embed themselves amid civilians. But the sheer scale of residential and public building devastation indicates damage far exceeds combat zones.
On the human toll, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported over 57,800 deaths as of June 18 2025—approximately 1 in 44 residents-with more than 100,000 injured. Independent sources, including the U.N. Human Rights Office, confirm roughly 70% of verified fatalities were women and children .
Specific operations like “Operation Might and Sword” on March 18, 2025 took at least 855 lives, including 263 women and children, and injured over 1,800 . Reports also note that as of June 20, at least 44 Palestinians, many waiting for food aid, were killed in stray or targeted fire near distribution sites.
no matter what they do, no matter how they spin cruelty & harm as necessary, no matter how smug they become in their hubris, or how many times the highest court in the land crowns them with its blessing, it doesn’t change the truth. some values are universal & they still matter. what is moral has not & is not always legal, but remains moral & should be our guiding compass now & in what is to come.
bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, boundless in their love, limitless in their compassion.
a representation of the potential of what our own hearts, minds are capable of.
may we see ourselves in such a way. may we open our hearts, settle our minds, set the intention, & practice making it so in practical ways, in our words, in our art, in our actions, in service for the benefit of all.
The Metta Garden 