prayers for Nepal for rescue, aid, relief, fresh water, generosity, healing and peace.
more than 1400 lives lost. many many injured. many with whereabouts unknown, many possibly buried with nightfall, rain, cold and aftershocks complicating the situation. hold them in your heart and prayers and give as you are able. peace ~j
#Nepal #NepalEarthquake
in honor of Earth Day and in celebration of this beautiful gift that is this planet I watched (and subsequently purchased) this exquisite movie and wholeheartedly recommend that watch it. you can rent rather than purchase 🙂
namaste ~j
#PlanetaryTheMovie #Planetary #Earth #Interdependence #WeAreOne #PlanetaryCollective
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Why do I consider it so crucial to balance the outer aspects of nonviolence and compassion with the inner support of contemplative practice? Because in the end, all politics are local, and we cannot love life and humanity if we do not love each other, one on one. ~ Lama Surya Das |
Pillar of beauty
This lone pine upon the hill
Grandeur is her name
~j
sometimes it is just enough to know you have the capacity to love,
to be moved by someone, to feel.
even that can be a window to the deeper love.
the love that carries us all.
may you know that you are worthy of such love
and that your love is a gift to this world.
you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.
~j
02.14.15
the thing is, around every corner beauty is waiting to be seen,
anxiously calling our attention.
and love.
love is calling to be held close and to be given away.
beauty and love.
sometimes they are disguised as the wind dancing through and with the
willing, swaying trees.
sometimes they are disguised as the little ants working together in
purpose or in laughter from a good joke, or the taste of your favorite
food, or the look in your beloved’s eyes.
sometimes they are hidden in struggle and grief, pain and loss.
but they are always present.
can we see the beauty in our broken moments?
can we hold ourselves with love?
sometimes the beauty we find and the love we discover are in how we
respond to life.
we have the capacity of heart to respond to life with openness, with a
spacious quality that allows. love allows.
so we still ourselves.
becoming aware of our breath.
we listen with fresh ears.
we look deeply.
and we stay open.
everything is a miracle, every moment sacred.
~j
02.13.15
“If there’s any possibility for enlightenment, it’s right now, not some future time.
Now is the time.”
~ Pema Chodron
“I have arrived. I am home.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end…”
~ Dan Wilson
(Semisonic’s “Closing Time”)
In all likelihood, the environmental crises we will encounter in the coming decades and probably centuries will bring great upheavals and immense suffering. It is all so hard to wrap one’s mind around because the problem is unprecedented in magnitude. At the same time, we have the whole history of human wisdom to draw upon in making our choices and taking action. The defining question of our age will be how we meet the calamities we will face, and how we will act to mitigate them and find our virtue in confronting them. The stakes couldn’t be higher, yet as human beings, we are not only expert in creating misery, we are also expert in working to resolve it. Both legacies, and the ability to choose which to follow, belong to us.
– James Shaheen, “Choosing Wisdom in the Face of Peril”
The Metta Garden 