PlantingSeeds

love the moment…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

there is so much pain, so much fear and anger. we can get lost in the suffering of it all. we can lose sight of the miracle of the moment, the love in the moment.

i have a practice i do (if i can step out of my suffering long enough to remember to do so!) that i would like to share with you.

when the suffering of the world, wars, poverty, discrimination, violence, corruption, indifference seem too overwhelming, i practice this. i bring my focus down to small stuff, the stuff we generally overlook. nature is a great aid in this. take a few moments to sit and breathe while observing nature, listening to birds’ song, the swaying of branches with the breeze dancing through, watching some insects (ants and bees are great!). even taking some time to observe your own body. have you ever stopped and looked at your skin for a while? fascinating! an appreciation arises naturally when we slow down, when we open and observe smaller, overlooked things.

when your personal suffering seems a burden too great to bear, go big. pull your focus out to a wider view, not centered on your smaller arena of life that can seem overwhelming. stand outside at night, be still, breathe, and observe the night sky as your eyes adjust and the stars begin to reveal themselves – spoiler alert, you can do this during the day as well, it is incredible how nuanced the blue sky can be and how magnificent clouds shapes can be. reflect on the good you see in the world, people opening their hearts, being kind, how history has a way of moving forward and improving even in the face of sometimes grave darkness and opposition. reflect on how the cycle of nature continues regardless – day into night into day, summer into fall and winter, into spring and summer. reflect even on your own life as a whole – observing all that has changed in your life from as a little kid until now. be aware of the rollercoaster of highs and lows, of drops and climbs. you have suffered before and have gotten through it. accept, forgive and love the journey thus far. everything changes. life persists.

love the moment.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveTheMoment #life #journey #suffering #meditation #zen #enso #JMWart

a marathon, not a sprint…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

so impressed with the multitudes marching yesterday. looking through the pictures i see so much to be inspired by.

a lot of love, passion, light and humor.

this is what democracy looks like.

and the continued persistence of this movement will be needed.

despite my critic friends, i would have loved to have seen the President do an about face and grow into this job, but many of us knew that wouldn’t happen and it hasn’t. i’ve been called out for not being fair and not carrying a neutral position. i disagree with that opinion. i firmly believe that a year in, any fair assessment continues to shed light on the consistent destructive nature of this Administration and Presidency. i believe it cuts through to the moral core of our hearts and the very fiber of our democracy. so being neutral in the face of such harm is not my path and not an option. i will continue to add my voice and my art mindfully and peacefully to #resist any actions that result in the degradation of our planet, any actions that target those on the margins and most vulnerable, and policies that deepen the divide of wealth in favor of the most elite. and i will continue to do so from a place of love and fierce compassion, calling out all forms of aggression and violence as best and consistently as i am able.

the road may be long, but it is well traveled by generations of open hearts before us who stood in the light with love, as they faced darkness.

~j

November 8th, 2018

#TheLongArc #TheResistance #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #WomensMarch #MindfulResistance #MeditateAndResist #StandUp #SpeakOut

#RiseUp

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

last year i was marching, joining tens of thousands of others through the streets is downtown San Diego, joining hundreds of thousands in other cities around this country, joining millions around the world, rising up and speaking out.

i am unable to march this year, but my heart is there with so many courageous and caring souls putting their passion to the pavement.

it is still so necessary. the attack on our lands, on immigrants, on others in the margins – Muslims, people of color, women, LGBTQ, elderly, poor, sick is ongoing. not always in big ways, but in little ways chipped away and ignored with more salacious headlines. the Russia issue continues to reveal that it is much deeper and goes much further than thought. and a twitterstorm of fake news, insults, continues to stream out of phone coddling fingers of a leader who golfs and holds court at his private resort every weekend.

there’s a lot to be concerned about and speak to. may we of sound mind continue to retain focus, avoid false equivalence, persist in our resistance, and ensure our passion – our drive is motivated from fierce compassion and unwavering love for that which is true, kind, and open-hearted. may it be put into action with our feet, our hands, our voices, and our art.

truth will out, love will win, and light will shine bright.

#TheResistance #RiseUp #resist #StandUp #SpeakOut #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #FierceCompassion #MindfulResistance #MeditateAndResist

The Metta Sutta

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness and who knows the path of peace. Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle of speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened by duties and frugal in their ways, calm and wise and skillful, not proud or demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove. Wishing in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease, whatever living beings there may be. Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none: — the great or the mighty, medium or short or small, the seen and the unseen, those living near or far away, those born and to be born. May all beings be at ease.

Let none deceive another or despise any being in any state that none through anger or ill will wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects the life of her child — her only child, so with a boundless heart should we cherish all living beings. Radiating kindness over the entire world, spreading upward to the skies, downward to the depths, outward and unbounded, free from hatred and ill will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down, free from drowsiness one should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views the pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, being freed from all sense desires, is not born again into this world.

~

The Buddha

from “The Metta Sutta”

#TheMettaSutta #LovingKindness #Metta #wisdom #life #bodhisattvas #Buddhism #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #MindfulResistance #JMWart

#TheShapeOfThings

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Just as water, through consistent interaction, smooths the rough edges of the rock, so too can consistent love and compassion smooth the rough edges of our hearts as we continue to open to all of life around us.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #CompassionWins #OpenHeart #life #Zen #Buddhism

#TheShapeOfThings

#BWphotography #photography #JMWphotography #JMWart

advice for our President regarding nuclear war…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

in response to the President, some wisdom from Thomas Merton. and may we, my friends, substitute “Christian” as “human” and/or “humane and sane” because all of us need to participate in this mission no matter our spiritual tradition or of we have no spiritual tradition.

~j

“(the) task is to work for the total abolition of war. There can be no question that unless war is abolished, the world will remain constantly in a state of madness and desperation in which, because of the immense destructive power of modern weapons, the danger of catastrophe will be imminent and probable at every moment everywhere. The church must lead the way on the road to the nonviolent settlement of difficulties and toward the gradual abolition of war as the way of settling international or civil disputes. Christians must become active in every possible way, mobilizing all their resources for the fight against war. Peace is to be preached and nonviolence is to be explained and practiced. We may never succeed in this campaign but whether we succeed or not, the duty is evident.”

~Thomas Merton

listen…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

one of our greatest skills and assets, listening with our hearts.

~j

#listen #OpenHeart #wisdom #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #MindfulResistance #MeditateAndResist #TheResistance #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

you are…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Don’t try to be someone else…

the cosmos has come together

and helped you manifest in this way, and you are beautiful just as you are.

To be beautiful means to be yourself.

~

Thich Nhat Hanh

you are. simple as that.

it takes courage to be authentic, to settle into who we are and all we have to offer through our talents and our open hearts, yet continue to open and grow. but it is our authenticity that benefits the world and connects us to others in a genuine way.

be you, be beautiful. it is your gift to this world.

~j

#YouAre #BeYou #BeBeautiful #authenticity #courage #presence #gift #OpenHeart #beauty #PlantingSeeds #TheLongArc #Zen #enso #JMWart