and well worth it, befriending ourselves, coming back to the breath, this body, this heart, this mind. invest in yourself, you too deserve your compassion, your kindness, your love.
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏻
although it is our own journey to take, we can share in that journey together. if interested, join me for some mindfulness awareness and lovingkindness meditation this Saturday at 10am pst. session is free or by donation. $10 suggested.
happy 87th birthday to His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama! 💫
bows of gratitude for his continued presence and his persistent message of compassion as the vehicle for resolving the world’s problems. may he live in good health for many years to come, continuing to be a light of compassion and peace.
~j ⭕️♥️🙏🏻
from His Holiness:
“Every day, think as you wake up, ‘Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” ~ HH The 14th Dalai Lama
i, too, am fascinated by space and space travel. i love looking up at the stars into this vast mystery we are a part of.
however, why do we have to go to Mars to have a common goal, to bring us together, when there is so much need here on Earth? if we can’t come together to end the slaughter of children at a schools, or churchgoers, or parade attendees, then we are just distracting ourselves. if we love weapons of war more than life, then we’ll just keep killing each other on Mars as well.
let’s not be distracted.
we have the awesome ingenuity and passion to travel into outer space. let’s also make traveling to the inner space of the heart and mind, just as important.
i’ve avoided posting today for #July4th , because i feel there’s quite a bit to be discouraged about and mourn, frankly. more on all of those issues and their recent developments in upcoming posts.
for now, today, i’ve mostly had #JaylandWalker on my mind and the #MassShooting in #HighlandPark. where i don’t have words, Bernice King puts it into words quite perfectly.
this is the #StateOfTheUnion and it isn’t good. we have our work cut out for us. if we really want to celebrate #IndependenceDay and #democracy, THEN GET #ENGAGED AND #VOTE.
wishing peace for all departed and their families, and healing for all wounded.
holding all of this sh*t with love. may flowers one day bloom!
i will miss you my friend. i am so grateful to have known you & to have had the privilege to call you friend for so long.
we met 30 years ago in 1992. we were just babies, juniors in high school drama (see first pic, Erin second from right, w/ me – w/ hair – just left of her). you were already a theatre veteran when i was cast in my 1st play, See How They Run. you were Penelope & i played the Russian Spy. i believe my first line to you & in the show was, “I vant your clodes (clothes)!” 😂
i fell into that show & into friendships that would last 3 decades. how can anyone be so lucky?!
we did other high school shows together & show choir, hung out at school dances & confided during rehearsal breaks. i watched as you followed your dreams & created a life you loved.
you loved life, you wanted to live, & you lived so deeply & passionately, more than so many of us. you brought us into your life, your artist’s journey – acting, directing, producing, creating, coaching, & your cancer journey – teaching us in your vulnerability, inspiring us w/ your courage, challenging us w/ your thirst for life & art. you were a passionate advocate who put into practice what she preached.
your happiness in your art & in your relationship & marriage to Bryn, gave me such joy, to see you filled w/ such joy & love.
i hold you in my heart & practice. i offer love to all who miss you in these moments & love you and called you dear, to Bryn especially & all who are family.
my friend, Erin, i offer the words of the Bardo Thodol: “Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns – the original nature of your own mind, the natural state of the unmanifest universe. Let go into the clear light, trust it, unite with it. It is your own true nature, it is home.”
my friend, Erin, i offer the words of The Heart Sutra mantra:
“gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā!”
“gone, gone, everyone gone to the other shore, awakening, so be it!”
here is some of the artwork and photography i’ve gifted my Patreon members as digital art print downloads for them to use and print as they like 👍🏻
these digital art prints are in addition to the other benefits each of the seven contributor tiers already receive. they’re a way of saying thank you for such generosity and are given to every level 🤩
for the price of a coffee (just $3 or $5) a month, you can have all of these digital prints, plus future ones, plus tier benefits ✨
please consider supporting my art and my ability to offer free/by donation meditation instruction, as i also provide full-time care for my father who has Parkinson’s/Lewy Body Dementia.
we simply can’t afford to become numb, to stick our heads in the sand. ignorance is not bliss when there is harm being done and there’s A LOT of harm to not be ignorant about right now. love calls us to be present, to bear witness, to engage, and tend to need.
but part of love is self-care. so we must honor our feelings, our emotions that arise in relation to what we are experiencing individually and collectively. whatever arises, hold it with love, tend to it with compassion and tenderness. be kind to yourself.
then when rested and centered in love, and moved by compassion, get back up and engage this world.
years ago @theinterdependenceproject introduced me to the phrase “Sit Down Rise Up” and i’ve carried it with me as a kind of mantra since. we sit, we take care, we tend to our heart and mind. then we rise up, we tend to the world, a world in need of our love. it’s worth it. we are worth it, the world is worth it.
…in reference to the thousands of individuals who refused to go through magnetometers (mags – metal detectors) in order to enter the official rally space. individuals who were carrying weapons including AR-15s, other firearms, knives, spears, flagpoles with spear tips. individuals that Former President Trump wanted to be let into his official rally space regardless of the weapons.
he cares for no one but himself. he cares for nothing more than his own power and hold on power. he was willing to go to any lengths to keep it, any lengths to stay in office.
many of us have felt we’ve known his character since 2015 or even before. some realized it through his presidency. i hope many more who have continued to support him realize it now through the sworn testimony from who have been overwhelmingly his own staff, family members, fellow Republicans, and supporters of him and his presidency.
i don’t know how all of this will resolve in regards to accountability for Trump and all who conspired, and coordinated with him, but history is filled with examples of people like him and what happens when they are in power. it’s never good.
we got very very lucky on January 6th that the coup attempt failed, that there wasn’t even more bloodshed, and that democracy survived. we won’t be lucky a second time.
i hope people are watching, paying attention, and working to keep democracy alive. we need overwhelming turnout to ensure none of these people who align with him end up in elected office from local and state level up to federal level, and that he also never holds elected office again.
nearly 100 million eligible voters sat out and didn’t vote in 2016. 80 million didn’t vote in 2020. democracy survives through engagement and participation – VOTE.
we’ve had such a challenging past week, dear friends. i wanted to share some words and art to give you encouragement. together, with the light of our love, we can dispel the darkness and bring balance – we can do it.————————
in the thick of things,
in the darkness and difficulty,
don’t forget who you are.
you are Love,
you are Light,
luminous and open.
meet life with empathy,
with compassion,
and the steady, purposeful,
and unshakable strength
that comes from
being grounded in Love.
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏻
————————
friends, this ink painting of a candle and it’s light in zen calligraphy style, is available for free along with other digital prints to all of my Patreon subscribers at any level starting at as little as $3 or $5 a month. for the price of a coffee you can have access to digital downloads of some of my art prints and photography, in addition to other benefits offered to each level of support. please consider supporting my art and my ability to offer free/by donation meditation instruction, as i also provide full-time care for my father who has Parkinson’s/Lewy Body Dementia. Thank you! You can find my Patreon link here: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller
The Metta Garden 