Tag: humanity

What Makes Us Human?

What makes us human, my loves? Is it the passion which lights these trails of empathy, or the strength of will within?

Is it the resolve which compels our purpose, or the readiness to take action?

We find ourselves often at these crossroads of consciousness and realization. The path we choose defining our way, but more so contributing courage. To that which remains at times unseen, slipping from humanity’s view.

We are but one, the collective ‘we’ – and, none without the means to infuse the energy of righteousness and kindness, my loves. It is both the grace and amplitude of our being.

What makes us human, my dearest loves?

It is the inescapable draw of our connection.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Mutuality of Our Experience.

A homeless man gave me a hug today. “You make my everyday special,” he said grinning. Then paused for a moment simply to say, “Some people have the gift of a worldly smile.”

We know each other just in passing. In total, less than a hundred words – but, enough to know the need. The kindness of ‘smile’, the warmth of ‘touch’ – a gesture of commonality amidst the rustling of humanity.

To some, passings are marked with a cruel hesitance – a disservice to self, as well as, to others. With implications larger than thoughts may assess; a disparity of contrast where community is needed.

And, ever always this lasting heart – which sets aside what past imparts. Knowing each has felt their ‘hour of need’, in spite of the circumstances which led us there.

In this we find our shared experience; the blessing of oneness in a world of many.

We are more than our thoughts, we are action in the end.

In peace, my darlings- thank you for being the source of my ‘everyday smile.’

Namaste ❤️

The Effortless Expansion of Humanity.

The decision to be of service is an easy one, my loves. To share our heart with those in need is an effortless extension of humanity. It helps to unify, to make ‘complete’ … and,

It’s what makes us ‘human.’

That we are able to connect, to empathize, to understand…to forgive.
Oh, now – that’s the peace; a cobbled off section of that which truly makes us whole.

Even as infants, we are mesmerized by the delicate shifting of patterns and shapes. Though we do not yet fully understand the depths of love, still we acknowledge its joy through smile to Mother.

And as we grow, we recognize it’s softened glow through the actions of others. We surrender ourselves to unknown spaces, yielding to much greater things.

All beginning with the most fundamental of intentions – that is, to be of service to another.

One moment, one choice…one simple action – yielding a lifetime of everlasting love.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Basis of Our Humanity.

“My humanity is bound to yours,” writes Nobel Laureate, Desmond Tutu. “For we can only be human together.”

To that end, we must open to the prospect of first knowing self; expanding the horizon of humbled vulnerability. And, yielding to the clarity of introspection.

For within you, I find a deepened sense of compassion, born through this expression of being human.

And, we are simply human, after all – ‘suffering’ the same worries and fear; rejoicing in the subtleties of this blessed interaction.

We discover ourselves in this process of knowing; of revealing that which has always been there.

This is the basis of our humanity, my loves ~ a connection which permeates all aspects of awareness.

In peace, my loves…and thank you for the gift of this connection.

Namaste ❤️

On This Path of Peace.

Why do we consider ourselves ‘separate’ from the rest? What marks this line of delineation and why is there seemingly ‘no going back’?

Do we not share the same earth, the same trees? Do we not marvel as the sky burns crimson at end of day?

Do we not all want the very same things – compassion, love and a selflessness that transcends?

And, yet – here we are; our media streaming a consistency of violence and an obligation towards retribution.

Though, to what end?

Does violence secure a peaceful path moving forward, or does it only serve to obscure humanity’s view?

This morning I am reminded of President Kennedy’s immortal words; “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

There is only one way, my darlings – on this path towards peace; but it requires an immediate ‘laying down of arms’. And, that must extend to our daily practice, compelling each of us to fully engage compassion.

Only then may we truly know what it means to love our brother. Only then may we know a resounding and lasting peace.

A little something to consider, my darlings. We are never ‘separate’, rather – we are the ‘collective whole’.

On this day, I wish you the blessing of faith, tolerant and unconditional love.

Namaste ❤️

As We Do Unto Others.

I remember once many years meeting a young woman living on the streets.

Her face had been worn through this experience of life, and yet – her eyes held a fascinating glint.

“Someday,” she smiled. “I’m going to have a house of my own. But first, I have to help out my friend.”

She pointed to a makeshift shelter by the roadside; a shelter comprised mostly of another person’s trash. The rain had caused the cardboard to warp, threatening to expose the frailty of life inside.

“I need to find a tarp just about this big,” she motioned with her hands. “When that’s done, then I’ll go home,” she winked.

We spent the next several hours reinforcing the bits of cardboard with an old tarp we’d found by the railway. Using extra ropes, we fashioned an actual ‘working’ front door.

As I’d only $20 left in my pocket, I had to promise I’d return to check on the old man’s welfare. And, I have ever since – carrying clothing, coffee and goodies in exchange for the delight of his stories.

Each time I visit, I think of the young woman who thought more of another than her own simple needs. In the months leading up to her departure, we had been working to reunite her with family – in the hopes that she might one day piece remnants of her seemingly shattered life.

I had mistakingly viewed her as vulnerable and weak – though, didn’t she end up teaching me a thing or two.

“It’s the every time doing,” she used to say. “That’s what God intended.”

To this day, I carry her ‘every time’ with me, always.

When I think of her, I’m reminded of the venerable Mother Teresa, who once said:

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Yes, we belong to one another, my loves – not just once in a while, but throughout every single moment.

And,

No matter how ‘poor’, we always have something to give.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

A Little Something on Being Human.

Someday, we will wake up my darlings – and, that ‘wall’ we’ve been building through all of these years will suddenly seem so unnecessary.

You know the one – that dreadfully overbearing structure carved from the bedrock of past fears, and resting on a foundation of misgiving.

In our minds, we believe it to keep us from harm – but, in the end it only serves to separate. From this side of the wall, we see only the ‘right’ side of ‘wrong’ and the justification for our righteousness.

But, in doing so we lose touch with that simple truth which unites us all –

We forget that it is our connection which makes us human. And, one day – your being human will be just enough.

One morning
we will wake up
and forget to build
that wall we’ve been building,
the one between us
the one we’ve been building
for years, perhaps
out of some sense
of right and boundary,
perhaps out of habit.

One morning
we will wake up
and let our empty hands
hang empty at our sides.
Perhaps they will rise,
as empty things
sometimes do
when blown
by the wind.
Perhaps they simply
will not remember
how to grasp, how to rage.

We will wake up
that morning
and we will have
misplaced all our theories
about why and how
and who did what
to whom, we will have mislaid
all our timelines
of when and plans of what
and we will not scramble
to write the plans and theories anew.

On that morning,
not much else
will have changed.
Whatever is blooming
will still be in bloom.
Whatever is wilting
will wilt. There will be fields
to plow and trains
to load and children
to feed and work to do.
And in every moment,
in every action, we will
feel the urge to say thank you,
we will follow the urge to bow.

~ Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

How is Your Heart Today, My Friend?

I watched two gentlemen greet each other at the coffeehouse this morning.

“Kayf haal-ik” they cried out. Meaning, ‘how is your heart today’?

So often, we become caught up in the ‘doing’ of life. We become over-scheduled, over-burdened, over-tired – we lose the joy in ‘just simply being.’

I remember when my children were much younger. “Why haven’t you enrolled him yet,” asked the mother of a very young friend. At just 7-years-old, her son had more activities planned than a presidential envoy overseas.

In contrast, I asked my children to be wanderers and explorers. To climb trees, and scrape their knees – to come home with a little dirt rubbed into their pants. I wanted them to learn to take chances, to swing from life’s branches – to measure time by way of the sun’s position in the sky.

And, at the end of the day, come home exhausted – simply from this ‘task’ of being human.

Kayf haal-ik – how is your heart today, my friend?  Sit with me, in this space, and connect – please, for just a little while. Share with me, your deepest thoughts – and help me to understand.

In this space of connection – there is no facade, no ceremonious putting on of airs. Just two hearts, coming together – with a reminder of what it is to be human.

So now, tell me – please, my dearest darlings; how is your heart today?

The Source of My Gratitude: The Day I Met His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

[blockquote source=”His Holiness, the Dalai Lama”]“I am just a simple Buddhist monk, no more, no less.” [/blockquote]

I had the honor of meeting His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. A small group of media were hand-selected to attend the Anwar Sadat Lecture Series on Peace at the University of Maryland.

Truth be told, I’m not sure how it all came to be; though I will say, I felt the grace of a Divine energy at play.

It was a moment I had dreamed of all my life, and one that I shall carry with me through each of my remaining days.

Our group was small, less than 20 members of the press, in total—and representing news agencies from all around this world. To my right, I caught the flashing glimpse of a CNN media badge—and quickly passing to the left of me, another team from the Voice of America.

As we whisked through yet another security checkpoint, I felt doubt slipping in to ask,  “So, just what do you think you’re doing here?”

It was the same thought I had struggled with in the days leading up to his visit.  To be one of the very few media selected to participate in such a historic event—I tear up, just thinking of it, and as I reflect over the path that has carried me here.

It has become one of the greatest sources of my gratitude.

As His Holiness entered the room, he bowed to each of us – an invitation that there may be no barriers between us.

“Sit down,” he said, as we all stood reverently in honor this man. “No formality! We are [the] same…The way we are born, the way we die—no formality.”

He spoke continuously for 45 minutes, never once breaking passion’s stride. There were no note cards during this lecture—as these words were coming directly from his heart.

He asked us to find the means, each day, to deepen our interconnectedness. To view this world through the eyes of compassion, forgiveness, and tolerance—to extend happiness and peace even in this, a most hostile world. He offered that tragedy should serve as humanity’s reminder that change…real change…requires a constant effort.

“The Dalai Lama won’t be here forever,” he said, as his voice began to trail.

And, with tears in his eyes he offered to all, “You have the opportunity and the responsibility to create a new world, a happier world…on the basis of the oneness of humanity. It will be up to each of you to carry forward this legacy.”

Indeed, it is our role to ensure that this most precious message of tolerance, understanding, and peace be preserved—and that each of us, in some small way, may become a change agent for humanity’s greater good.

We are all very much one. Even on those days when we may feel just a bit like we don’t belong. It is this sense of disconnectedness that often reminds us of our true purpose.

At least, that’s what a very wise man once said to me—as he stood there with the most beautiful smile in his eyes.

Everyday Hero, Sir Nicholas Winton.

[blockquote source=”Andy Andrews”]“You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world.”[/blockquote]

It’s not often that you hear of a story so delightful, that it makes your heart swell with the warmth of compassion’s reach.

During WWII, Sir Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker, selflessly risked his life to rescue 669 mostly Jewish children from the Nazi-occupied Czechoclovakia.

On 15 November 1938, 5 days after the devastation of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in Germany and Austria, a delegation of British Jewish and Quaker leaders appealed in person to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Neville Chamberlain. Among other measures, they requested that the British government permit the temporary admission of unaccompanied Jewish children, without their parents.

The operation, later dubbed “Czech Kindertransport” was responsible for saving the lives of over 10,000 predominantly Jewish children – most of whom had lost their families to the horrors of the Holocaust.

It is only through the actions of individuals like Nicholas Winton, that we may begin to advance humanity’s vision.

In the 50 years following this incredible rescue mission, Nicholas struggled to deal with the guilt and sadness over the loss of those he wasn’t able to rescue.

Eventually, his wife discovered a scrapbook, list of names, and journals documenting his rescue operation, and she convinced him to go public with his story, leading to his appearance of the BBC show.

While appearing on the show, unbeknownst to him, he received an amazing surprise when the host revealed that 80 of the audience members surrounding him were saved during the rescue operation. And today, there are roughly 6,000 people around the world today who owe Winton their lives.

Today, Winton is 105 years old, has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The touching video of Winton’s surprise on the BBC program has spread all over the Internet recently and is a reminder of just how many people have gone unrecognized for doing heroic things in the course of history.