“The practice of love can be expressed in one sentence: Do not harm others.” ~ HH The 14th Dalai Lama
many of us are trying to figure out what it means to love in this moment, what it looks like to love. whatever definitions we come up with, certainly we should be able to agree that the cruelty and the harm we are seeing being done to others is not love. and when we support or participate in such cruelty and harm, we are falling short of the love we are called to embody in this life for the benefit of others. may we open our hearts to love, choosing love over and over again for the benefit of all in this moment. may we never side with cruelty and oppression. may we do no harm.
this is one of my go to songs when i need a bit of a boost to my hope, my resilience, & my resolution to keep pushing forth in love. though it is nearly a decade old, i think it is as fresh as ever for all we are facing. i find the people invited to participate in this video so beautiful, courageous, & inspiring without exception. there’s not a category of person shown in this video that isn’t being currently targeted or attacked through rhetoric or policy in soe way by the current US admin. i think about their struggles then, & the many who are struggling now facing this moment. all i can say is you are loved, you are beautiful, you deserve happiness & peace. this is why there is a NO KINGS pro-democracy rally this Saturday, 10/8. we all deserve to thrive & that won’t happen within fascism. keep the faith, friends, together we “won’t stop running.”
it’s the dirt beneath our nails work. the callouses on our feet work. the tired voice, but never too tired to listen work. love is work that we choose over & over again. it’s the narrow path, because it excludes no one. something we find almost impossible to not do. that’s the real sin, isn’t it? that we limit love, that we limit love’s capacity to hold & heal it all. so many prefer the judgement & criticism of self-created myth & manufactured purity over the gritty reality of grace, which is love. manufactured purity myth makes cruelty okay, maybe even righteous & celebrated. but that’s the easy way out, the way of non-work, spiritually lazy, harmful & destructive. how dare any of us limit love & exclude, push away, diminish others. we have no right to be so lazy – especially if we have ever felt love. but maybe the cruelest of us, haven’t felt loved, & our cruelty is our unhealed, unloved pain manifest. so there too, love is the answer. love IS work, the hardest work, the world without end work, work beginning in our own heart first, the learning to love ourselves work, so we are then able to remind others that they too are sacred, worthy, & loved. doing so by loving them.
as w/ the last No Kings in June, it is expected that there will be thousands of peaceful protest/marches nationwide. despite the lies from the Admin, these are a wonderful opportunity to gather in community w/ other pro-democracy citizens to practice our 1st Amendment right to free speech & assembly, to practice love for our democracy & neighbors!
i’ve made 10 FREE high res downloadable Protest Posters using some of my new & existing art. they are available for download via public post on my Patreon (no need to be a patreon – this post & downloads are FREE for everyone)
hope these are a helpful contribution to the cause, which is why they are free! if you feel moved, any & all generosity is welcomed & appreciated BUT not necessary.
may all be safe, healthy, happy, at ease, & free from suffering. AND may democracy prevail.
though empathy has come under attack recently (which really is crazy, isn’t it?!), the argument for the value & benefit of empathy in the light of all the cruelty & harm we are seeing could not be starker. we are seeing in real time what a lack of empathy looks like & the ripple effect this has on communities, our country, & the world. the rise of authoritarianism & fascism, ethnic cleansing & genocide, endless wars & all around oppression, is directly related to a decline in our valuing of empathy. yet our greatest spiritual teachers emphasize such heart quality. the Buddha, in the 10th chapter of the Dhammapada states, “All tremble at violence; life is dear to all. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.” this is empathy. Jesus, says in the gospels of Matthew & Luke “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. also in Matthew, Jesus states, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” is not empathy necessary in each of these scenarios? personally, i see empathy as our superpower. it is the aspect of love that allows connection for love & space to love. my choice to engage the power of empathy is what allows me to maintain my sacred duty to love, my humanity, my dignity. it is what allows us to stay human instead of becoming monsters.
what does it say about those who choose otherwise?
dear friends, as we steady ourselves, heading into what will no doubt be another week of (seemingly chaotic) harmful action by this administration, please remember to take care of yourselves as we continue to be engaged to the level we are able.
they want us overwhelmed, worn down, afraid, & surrendered in despair…but we don’t have to be. we, each of us in our own unique way, have what this moments needs to invite love, empathy, generosity, & compassion into each moment – & perhaps most importantly we have each other. loving into this moment, includes loving yourself.
today was the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. he’s been my favorite Saint since i was a kid. i’ve always felt drawn to him, intertwined w/ my love for nature. as this day draws to a close i’ve been thinking about how St. Francis is the perfect antidote icon of our current challenges. St. Francis aligned himself w/ the poor even though he came from wealth, he chose peace after having seen the ravages & despair of war, he saw Christ & the sacred in every person & every thing, & he saw the power in serving others. what a statement for those in power in our time! St. Francis lived as close as anyone has to the message of Jesus – which is in stark contrast to the Christian Nationalism we see today. St. Francis was a true bodhisattva, to use a Buddhist term, leaving no one out in his ministry to be in solidarity w/ & serve those who suffer. even his famous prayer below, reads similar to a bodhisattva vow.
may we all have hearts like St. Francis.
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏼
The Prayer of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
love is a re-orientation of our view. love is where we set & rest our attention, & love is the only energy spacious enough to allow for the presence of fear, yet not allow it to stand in the way of serving, of helping, or healing where there is need.
The Metta Garden 