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currently there is a lot of irresponsible & harmful rhetoric about going to war, retribution, & vengeance – & some from people who claim to follow Jesus no less. disappointing & dangerous. 

it can be quite easy to get caught up in group think & emotions (especially when we aren’t working with transforming our emotions & have unprocessed rage), but we don’t have to go down such a path. each of us, can make a choice to anchor ourselves in open-heartedness, warmth, tenderness, & offer that love to others without exclusion. offering our love to others, does not mean that we have to like them or agree with them, it simply means we wish for them to be at ease and have happiness, to be safe & free from suffering. why wouldn’t we wish this? if hurt people hurt people, as the saying goes, then why wouldn’t we wish people to not hurt? we all benefit! ultimately love is not a feeling as much as it is a choice, a vow we can make. no matter the situation, we maintain our freedom & our autonomy to make such a choice. if we are serious about this & about our role in this life, on this earth, then no outside circumstances can move us from this vow. love is not only a valid & beneficial choice in these situations, ultimately it is the only valid & beneficial choice if we wish to survive & honor the sacredness of life.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#love #lovingkindness #metta #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart 

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this week has been heavy with tragedy, hypocrisy, hateful & inflammatory rhetoric, false accusations, opportunistic politics, & further erosion of norms & our democracy.

exhausting. so much of it, maybe most of it, is out of our control. but we do have – or should have – control over ourselves. we can practice self-regulation, self-discipline, open-heartedness, & yes – empathy. even if some think it’s a made up word or don’t believe in it. this week has made it obvious that many of us still have a lot of work to do in this area. but we should do so! we should do so knowing this stark truth – any moment may be our last.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#impermanence #MakeItCount #ZenEveningGatha #zen #enso #JinpaLhaga #JMWart 

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keep going.

going forth with your heart open & your humanity intact. 

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#KeepGoing #faith #hope #love #OpenHeart #JaneGoodall #JinpaLhaga #JMWart  

we must align with inclusive love even when others choose not to. even as we shine light on the dark & name harm. even as we push back against forces of oppression & destruction with fierce compassion, we must not contribute to aggression & violence. they solve nothing. they do, however, plant seeds whose fruit will be more aggression & violence.
say no to violence, say no to harm.
⭕️♥️🙏🏼

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SCOTUS has failed us. no doubt, this is a very dark chapter. with the SCOTUS ruling allowing T’s ICE to target for detainment & interrogation anyone they choose based on race, language, & accent who may appear to them to be an immigrant & whom they may assume is undocumented, more than ever we must be in solidarity with each other protecting our friends & family as best we can, knowing what we stand for & what ground we stand upon. 

love is the way.

love knows no bounds.

through it all, love continues.

they can’t stop love.

how will we embody the light & fierce compassion of love in this moment?

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#immigrants #love #LoveIsTheWay #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #calligraphy #art

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so full

so bright

she carries 

all of our sadness,

yet shines

oh!

to be luminous 

like the Moon!

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#moon #love #life #shine #poetry #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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hearts broken open

meeting life in each moment

we carry the world

…

it is your love, our love, that inspires hope & courage within us to act in ways that heal, transform, create, & shine light in this world when all else may seem dark & hopeless.

we must not abandon our love, rather we must lean into it, despite whatever may appear contrary.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#OpenHeart #love #courage #hope #light #haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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don’t normalize harm.

align with Love!

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#fascism #harm #democracy #love #OpenHeart #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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i delight in the beauty 

of this moment, 

knowing that even now, 

it has already passed.

even through all that is happening, cherish your life, friends.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#impermanence #life #presence #cherish #beauty #delight #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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when oppressive powers appear to have the upper hand, it is easy to succumb to numbness, or cynicism, or rage. but this is what they want, to assume control by breaking us down, to cause us to forget who we are in love. it’s insidious really, but also so fragile, weak, & afraid. their power is desperate & depends on the acquiescence of others. fascism‘s appetite is insatiable & it will continue to take & attempt to consume, but we don’t have to offer up our minds or our hearts. our love, our being made of love, is something no power can take. it’s our divine & sacred right. it is our very own power we can connect to anytime we choose to, through the love of our families & friends, nature, our creativity & art, our jobs & careers, through the joy & warmth these areas of life & relationships bring to our hearts, reminding us of what is true, good, & lasting in & beyond this moment.

perhaps those in power have forgotten, maybe even lost who they are, bobbing around in their delusion, greed, & hatred. let us not lose ourselves. love the Light of Love, dear friends. harbor no darkness.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#love #light #OpenHeart #power #sacred #JinpaLhaga #JMWart