You can survive on your own; you can grow strong on your own; you can prevail on your own; but you cannot become human on your own.
~
Frederick Buechner
#interdependence #InThisTogether #TheOther #TheOutsider #TheImmigrant #TheRefugee #family #sangha #PlantingSeeds #TheLongArc #LoveWins #empathy #compassion
these heroes
these saints
broken and human
yet
beautiful and buoyant
in their love
worried and tired
stumbling
falling
yet
courageously
persistently
fiercely
open-hearted
shining bright
their light
they are you
they are me
they are we
we are
the Resistance
~j
01.12.18
get out of your head, and into your heart. or better yet, find the balance between the two.
~j
#interconnection #interdependence #OpenHeart #AllInTheSameBoat #InThisTogether #relaxed #open
possibly both houses of Congress are voting on the #GOPTaxPlan today.
The Tax Policy Center, an independent organization, has stated the within ten years 83% of tax-cuts income will go to the top 1% and the bottom 60% (that’s most if not everybody i know…if it isn’t you, please adopt me) will be paying more a lot more in taxes. Analysis is that we will increase our deficit by $1.5 trillion.
recently both Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio made statements that savings to help pay for this, will likely be taken from entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) which would undeniably and adversely hit the poor, the elderly, those with disabilities.
this isn’t a partisan issue. this is a moral issue. how we treat the most vulnerable cuts through everything else and is at the heart of who we are and who we want to be.
there’s a lack of #empathy from those in power toward those not in power. i was listening Chuck Grassley and Orin Hatch recently and as they talked about those on assistance programs, it wasn’t even indifference that i heard, i heard disdain. it was gross, but mostly sad.
this is an issue of the heart and soul, a lack of awareness of our interdependence, a lack of recognition that our destinies are tied to each other. the story will not end with what is possibly passed today, with this tax plan. but, the story will be deeply changed – initially for the most poor and vulnerable, but also and eventually for those in power. we cannot escape our actions, if not outwardly, then inwardly. neither is burden we want to carry as a country.
if this concerns you or speaks to your heart, please call your Senator, your Representatives, send faxes, and use your social media platforms.
may all be well, safe, at peace and free from suffering.
~j
12.19.17
in for the long haul.
practice self-care and care for others during this challenging time.
this world needs authentic, open hearted, fierce bodhisattvas offering healing where destructive forces lay waste.
keep your light shining.
~j
I began meditating nearly a decade ago. Similar to now, my meditation practice was mindfulness of breath as taught by the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Soon after I had started my meditation practice, I had a very valuable friendship fall apart. At the time, it was quite devastating. Looking back, it was a pivotal growth moment in my practice. I didn’t know a lot about meditation or Buddhism at the time, but I did know that the only way I was going to get through that period of time, those moments, was to find a way to BE with what was happening in a balanced way – to not run away from it, but to also not live out the storyline of what was happening over and over again, replaying it in my mind. To hold that person and friendship in love with no ill feelings, but also to completely let them go.
Just sitting with my breathing at times was too painful and overwhelming, so taking the lead from Thich Nhat Hanh who uses “gathas” or verses, I wrote one for myself to use with my breathing.
The verse was:
(breathing in – saying silently in my mind)
May I have the capacity of heart to hold the entire world and all of life
(breathing out – saying silently in my mind)
And the wisdom of mind to let go
I would sit with this verse and for quite some time it was my only practice. I would sit for 10 mins, 20 mins or a half hour, breathing in and out, repeating this verse. I would picture the friend, as I thought the first part while breathing in, and then picture them fading off into the horizon as I thought the second half while breathing out. I wasn’t immediately relieved, but within time, I grew more and more at ease, the burden was lifted and I felt some peace.
Though the anchor of my practice is still simply sitting and breathing, at times when life feels overwhelming, I will come back to this verse and use it. I have in recent years changed the “I” to “we” understanding that we are all in this together, sharing in suffering, sharing in joy, interdependent as a community.
We seem to be living in a time that is quite chaotic and can feel overwhelming. I would like to offer this verse to you for practice. If it’s too wordy, a simple version could be:
(breathing in – saying silently in your mind)
May I hold all of life in love
(breathing out – saying silently in your mind)
And in love, let it go
My gut says we are in for a long haul, my friends. We need sane people doing good work to counter that which is harmful. We need bearers of light and healers in love. We need bodhisattvas. Even as the world spins around you, hold to center, maintain your balance, maintain your sanity.
Breathe.
May all be at ease and free from suffering.
~j
11.30.17
keep playing the long game, bodhisattvas!
of course there is a complexity to these mass killings.
motivation is a component that varies from shooter to shooter. mental health struggles may be a component. and another component – the elephant in the room – is our society’s tremendous inability to process and transform pain and suffering in a healthy way along with our delusion that we are somehow independent of each other rather than the reality that we are interdependent. but surely guns as weapons of choice are also a component. it takes minimal intelligence and awareness to recognize this.
yet, some people say this is not a gun issue. however, these men are choosing guns as their weapon for a reason – quick mass casualties. this makes these mass killings a gun issue.
it is horribly, tragically ironic that a culture identifying as pro life loves the right to own guns and their ability to kill, more than life.
if you want to offer prayer, please offer prayers for a change of heart and mindset, for a clarity of vision and then more importantly work for that change. put prayers for an end to this mass violence into some beneficial action.
~j
#GunViolence #ProLife #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #interdependence #enso #JMWart
#repost from last year of my art and some thoughts that still seem appropriate today, in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday anniversary:
The law of love governs the world. Life persists in the face of death. The universe continues in spite of destruction going on. Truth triumphs over untruth. Love conquers hate.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
I believe this to be true.
But I also believe love and life itself call on us to engage and perhaps even depend on our participation.
Nothing, No Thing, can be taken for granted.
There are times when silence just isn’t an option.
Speak and act in solidarity. With nonaggression, with nonviolence, yes. But also with inexhaustible, fierce, formidable compassion and commitment to justice and equality.
Can we hear the cries of the world?
Are we willing to answer?
~j
#WakeUp #OpenEyes #Bodhisattvas #BodhisattvaVow #Service #FierceCompassion #Compassion #Kindness #Courage #Love #OpenHeart #TheLongArc #JMWart
The Metta Garden 