Tag: acceptance

The Single Most Powerful Prayer.

Father Thomas Keating once shared that the most powerful prayer in the human language is a single word – ‘help’. And yet, all too often we fail to oblige its presence – fearful that our need may be viewed as weakness. Instead, we create a barricade to protect our heart – hardened by the circumstances of our past hesitations and failure.

In doing so, we begin to draw away, to isolate from that which is needed most of all – an acceptance of our humanity.

We are broken, every single one of us. And our fate, subsequently uncertain. It’s only when we relinquish these illusions of control that we may begin to appreciate a sense of trust formed only when the mind is fully present. To live, as described in the ancient buddhist texts, absent the anxiety of our own imperfection.

When we ask for help, we are asking for acceptance. What we fail to realize is that it’s already there. That this brokenness, itself, is what helps us to flourish.

“Just as we open and heal the body by sensing its rhythms and touching it with a deep and kind attention,” Jack Kornfield writes, “so too can we heal other dimensions of our being.”

And, through the utterance of that simple prayer – ‘help’ – we begin to make room for a new hope to arise.

In peace, my sweet friends…

Namaste ❣

What We Become.

“It’s not who you were, it’s what you become,” I smiled softly, leaning in. “And what you become has yet to be gifted.”

Slowly, he lifted his head – as if the once unyielding weight was beginning to wane.

Whereas, each moment has its own unique purpose, they are never separate from that which is the remaining whole.

Neither blessing nor curse may shadow our tomorrow. Likewise, it can not conceal its benefit.

A ‘cobbling together’, day by day; meaning, our story is far from done. And things are just as they are.

Even when we don’t yet understand, trust there is order within the chaos.

And we, through the care and willfulness of spirit can ‘light a lamp in any darkness’ as they Buddha once said.

Today, I ask you simply to take notice. Feel the energy of ‘moment’ rising.

What is it asking? What does it wish to share?

Is it begging the encouragement of trust, or – is it simply reminding us to stay?

A little something to consider, my loves…

In peace,

Namaste ❤

Into the Light of the Divine.

“By your stumbling, the world is perfected,” Sri Aurobindo once wrote. It is by our imperfections that this world is made whole.

Yet, how infrequent the allowance – the willingness to simply be. That we face the fears of another’s judgement, or – worse yet, that of our own mind’s meandering.

“But few are those who tread the sunlit path;” he shared. Have we become accustomed to the illusion of our perfection? Have we relinquished the last real connection to our humanity?

Having suffered previously, this thought of error – we lean into the ‘absolute’, the space of non-reconciliation. Do we fear the harsh contrast of our own internal light?

Or, are we simply afraid to recognize that which is real?

Because, aren’t we all, my dearest loves – a living, breathing, shimmering, radiant manifestation of the Divine?

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

Testing the Tolerance of Heart.

I was watching the news on television this morning. A young man out walking his pup was attacked by another passerby. “I didn’t like the way he looked,” the assailant later confided. “Up to no good, I’m telling ya,” he said.

The victim was later identified a community leader and advocate for disadvantaged youth. His days were comprised of much smaller actions yielding a far greater good. In the past week alone, he had offered uniforms and lunches for those children whose parents were unable to provide.

And, not for the glory – my goodness, no. Rather, more simply, because it was the right thing to do. But now he lay, clinging to life. Why?

Because, “I didn’t like the way he looked…”

In our teachings, we focus on the essence of love and its transformative spirit. Though, how often do we exercise the energy of tolerance? “I’m a Buddhist until I get behind the wheel of a car,” a friend of mine once said. And, he was right – my ‘burning ears’ will surely bear testimony.

The truth is, every moment is a test of our tolerance. Our emotions, our fears, our past experiences – each defining our interaction within this space. We may say or act a certain way, sometimes not truly reflective of our beliefs or spirit. Emotions trigger reaction, while tolerance coaxes heart.

Though there may be vast differences between us all, still we strive for a shared understanding; a unity beyond race, culture, class and virtue.

“If we cannot end now our differences,” President John F. Kennedy once shared. “at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

Perhaps then, our practice should include a testing of heart? That we may learn to engage tolerance even in these more trying of times.

In peace, my loves…

Namaste ❤️

The Blessing Within the Visit.

I watched a cardinal from the window this morning; her eyes sharing the warmth of endless possibility, even in these depths of winter.

Day after day, she visits me here just as the sun begins its ascent through the canopy of trees. Her presence bearing a simplicity of grace, and the mutuality of our coexistence.

Though separate, are we not the same? How striking that these laws of nature deter the constancy of opinion. And celebrating that which compels unity of purpose.

Even the lone cardinal finds solace in the collective journey; reassured through the inherent need to draw patterns against the sky.

And even though we are without the ‘wings’ to fly. Still – she sees within that which is often absent from sight:

Not separate…

Not different…

Rather, very much the same.

In peace, my loves…

Namaste ❤️

This Selflessness of Spirit.

Growing up, my mother always kept an extra place setting open at the table. “In case someone stops by,” she’d smile.

Through her actions, my mother encouraged the selfless grace of compassion, and a sharing of heart with all human souls. To this day, I strive to reflect her generosity and warmth of spirit. I pray that I may create a space for all to feel ‘at home’. Our community is just one of her many manifestations of light.

The Buddha’s teachings embodied the principles of mutuality, tolerance and acceptance; our shedding of ‘self’ serving as a means to that end.

As the finer threads of our veiled illusion shifts, we begin to see ourselves in a different life. Not as ‘one’, but ‘belonging to’ something much greater than the eye may discern.

Humanity is served by these fundamental values; of peace, of tolerance and respect for all. Irrespective of our political ties, and separate from the chapels of resignation.

We are one human family, after all.

Today, I pray we may honor this energy of compassion – utilizing our deepest heart in the furtherance of all.

In peace, my loves…

Namaste ❤️

The Gate to Freedom.

I wish I could remember who it was that said, “It is possible to experience a true and endless freedom, though – we must first understand what freedom is.”

Ask anyone their interpretation of freedom, and the answers will be vast in their variance. Each reflecting in our own way, that which often evades explanation.

Just as the radiance of light breaking through the trees, we see ourselves in soft patterns of shadows against the pavements edge. Defining for us the magnitude of this simple joy – a deepening of gratitude through clarity of vision.

For some, freedom represents the song within our heart; a harmony which balances all that surrounds. While to others, freedom cautions a more pragmatic view; securing only that which fulfills a need.

Either way, we know it when it’s lost; feeling its absence through the starker contrasts of pain.

And though, at times, we may feel despair; the resonance of faith is always there.

Reaffirming that which we’ve long known to be true; the gates of freedom are always within you.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

A Flower in Winter.

There’s a flower standing alone against the stone garden wall. In spite of winter’s imminent ‘bite’, she continues to remain.

So proud of all that she is – though, more so, of what she has yet to become.

It matters, not – what might be or has passed. Rather, simply that she may continue to ‘be’.

What we do, depends on what we ‘see’.

To some, the unforgiving harshness of the season’s will and whim. While to others, a contemplation of life always beginning.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

This Blessing Within the Mistake.

A little one stopped at my door this morning. In the distance his father stood with face flushed red; holding the anger of a child who “just hadn’t listened.”

The little one shifted nervously before he began, “Miss Tara…I accidentally broke your bird feeder.”

I looked to the garden, noting the shards of glass amongst scattered seed. A feeder that had served valiantly through the tests of wind and storm and fattened squirrel had proved no match to a little one’s curiosity.

“He’ll pay for it,” the father chimed. “From his own money, I assure you.”

His face pitched as he held back the tears, “I’m sorry, Miss Tara – I didn’t mean to.”

I knelt down, taking his hand and smiling warmly in return. “I know, silly – accidents are NEVER on purpose.”

We all mistakes. Even the Buddha, as he starved himself to alleviate the “pain of ample luxury” – he, too, made the mistake of over-compensation. He deprived himself for the sake of spirituality – thinking ‘less’ was ‘more’ on this path to freedom.

I thought of the story as I looked down into this little one’s eyes – tortured in the wake of having made one simple ‘mistake’.

How easily we discount this aspect of authenticity, as we reconcile the burden of having been ‘wrong.’ As mind straggles to assign label – foolish, careless, overbearing – our sense of self becomes unforgivably rigid. We lose our way along this path of being human.

In doing so, we become less accommodating to the ‘faults’ of others; assigning blame before extending these lessons of willingness and acceptance.

“Their food got stuck,” he said, pointing to a blockage of seed and spent peanut ‘casings’. “I just wanted to try and fix it.”

“Oh, thank you,” I smiled, knowing instantly the resolution. “I’ve had a new one for months, but haven’t been able to remove the old one.”

We spent the next few moments, installing the new feeder. As the birds gathered, biding anticipation I winked and said;

“You see, to some a mistake – to others, a blessing.”

There’s an opportunity for sharing in all, my loves ~ though we must take measure to thoughtfully encourage.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Art of Giving Freely.

“We are all one.”

These are the words often shared through many countless teaching. They are the embodiment of authenticity and grace, demonstrating the interrelationship between all living beings.

Likewise, they mark the ‘boundaries’ of our own spiritual freedom. Meaning, only to the extent that we may love ourselves – to willingly accept all which comprises our being – may we truly love another.

But, there’s a fear often associated with this blind unconditionality. As humans, we’re hesitant to face that which we presume to be judged. From outermost shell to the heart of our inner presence, we modify, adapt and change that which we assume can not be loved.

Though, how can we possibly emit the radiance of mutuality, when we’re unwilling to commit that same light to self?

And, how may we enter this space of shared understanding, when we’re unwilling to share the true boundlessness of our being?

A little something to consider, my friends – what we share to this world is ultimately returned.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️