principles, values, morals, ethics.their companion is our integrity and willingness to stand and to speak when such a time arises. the time is now.
~j
#WakeUp #OpenEyes #Bodhisattvas #BodhisattvaVow #Service #FierceCompassion #Compassion #Kindness #Courage #Love #OpenHeart #TheLongArc
this tender heart is the root of our strength.
~j
we often think and say that, with the New Year, we have a fresh start – a clean slate to make choices that are more beneficial to our lives and the lives of others.
but the truth is, it is even better than that!
a fresh start is available with each breath we take – every breath we take is an opportunity to begin anew. every breath is a new lease on life, a confirmation that we still have the opportunity to benefit ourselves and others as we continue this journey.
each new breath is a new opportunity to let go, to choose life, to choose love, to choose nonaggression and nonviolence, to speak words of encouragement, to bear witness to our suffering and the suffering of others, to act with compassion and kindness, to live generously and with grace, to laugh, to smile, to be brave in the middle of our sadness, to dive into this experience fully opening our hearts more and more, choosing to be healers to the suffering we see.
may 2016, and every breath you take, remind you that there is beauty and there is love – and that you are both of these things.
namaste
~j
#NewYears2016 #NYE2016 #HappyNewYear #change #transition #opportunity #life #love #compassion #kindness #generosity #courage #nonaggression #nonviolence #laugh #healing #healers #mindfulness #meditation #zen
Brave Uncertainty
“Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It’s the kind of place we usually want to avoid. . . . When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion arises spontaneously.”
~ Pema Chödrön
#courage #BeHereNow #presence #life #choices #peace #struggles
sometimes
it is all i can do
to just sit
here in this naked moment
this uneasy
space
my heart broken open
how else can all of this Love pour out?
~j
…here i sit. at present words fail me, so i have pulled from words assembled in the past, reflecting a moment then, to reassemble them here in the present, reflecting this moment now.
i hesitate to use the word “lost” when regarding the passing of a friend. love is never lost, never gone nor diminished. love just transforms herself and continues her lovely dance into the next hall where her beauty can continue to grow and delight. how can the great work of love ever be done? nevertheless, in this transitory life we call home, when a friend continues their journey it is we who can feel lost.
i hold these uncomfortable feelings, these feelings of sadness for all who are suffering in this “loss.” i hold these feelings with tender care. allowing them to grow this heart in love and teach the bravery that is openness.
Lori Miles Rubino is a bright light, who has embodied bravery and openness, a gift to all who know her and have the privilege to call her friend. kind, compassionate, encouraging, funny, open and loving. a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, coach, friend, artist, photographer, and writer. her life has been one of great love, the work of a bodhisattva, as is so evident in the amazing family she has raised and of whom i am so grateful and adore.
in honor of her bravery, her openness, and her beautiful talent as a writer i want to invite and encourage you to read her blog One Toe Over the Line Sweet Mary. her most recent entries will shake you, wake you up, make you laugh and open your heart. do yourself the great favor and gift of reading her words. chew them, reflect and meditate on them. especially her entries, Forgiving and Dying among others. i was so moved in reading the latter – it was our final correspondence in the first week of January 2015 beyond mutual Facebook “like”ing more recently. i cherish it.
the rawness, i attempt to express in my words at the top of this page – is so deftly brought to life in Lori’s essays. i will be reblogging her work, here, to share.
love you, dear Lori, and so grateful for the gift of your love. i look forward to watching how it continues to grow in the hearts of all who know you and love you. rest in peace, kalyanamitra.
namasté
~j
01.21.15
these things…
depth of heart, sensitivity, courage, integrity, self-awareness…
with a 24 hour news cycle that often puts a spotlight on what can be negative and destructive results of human choice and action, it is important to also open our eyes and draw attention to our beauty. a beauty manifest from what can be great bravery in harrowing circumstances, drawn from the compassion that lives in our hearts. these photos do show some of the ugly – but the majority bear witness to the beauty that arises from courageous souls connecting to our humanity, making a different choice, to end suffering.
~j
there is a different kind of warriorship that we can participate in.
one that is not about being aggressive or violent.
one that is about being brave enough to not use aggression, to not succumb to fear, and to not become anxious…
choosing not to add to the fear and not to add to the aggression in the world, and choosing not to engage in cynicism…
it is a decision made moment by moment, choice by choice.
this is what it means to be a spiritual warrior, a warrior of and for peace.
this is what it is to serve Love.
~j
10.16.14
it is, it seems to me, the courage to recognize that whether in our joy or suffering, we are One. there is no division, no duality. just One.
it is why i practice Buddhism, it is why i still love the teachings of Jesus who aligned himself with the poor and those who were outcasts. it is why i find the words of the current Pope encouraging.
and when it seems impossible to live this Compassion, to live as One, we can take comfort and encouragement in each other as we practice together.
The Metta Garden 