Tag: Jack Kornfield

Which Do You Choose?

Maha Ghosananda asks, “If we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?”

At face value, it’s a very simple question – yet one in which demands thoughtful introspection. Indeed, what good is happiness if not sustained? Simply put, it is incomplete.

Instead, we must look to this world with a ‘beginner’s mind’s – absent the burden of judgement and fear. In this, we begin to realize the delicacies of this new paradigm – that we must abandon the old, to gain the fullness of new. We can either ‘become lost in a smaller state of consciousness,’ Jack Kornfield writes, or we can look to those struggles as an opportunity to become whole – to lend vital meaning to this journey.

And, in the end, the only question remaining  – my friends, which do you choose?

In peace, my sweet friends…

Namaste ❣

Finding Resilience in the Smaller Things.

There’s an old woman who walks along the street where I work. When we first met, she could barely move having just endured a substantial surgical repair. Yet, day after day, she would greet me near the door. “Good morning,” I’d smile. “More than you know,” she’d return.

Though she experienced what I’m sure was excruciating pain, still she had faith in that ‘step after next’. She moved clumsily, at first – hunched over an aluminum walker, her body barely able to support her weakened state. But, in time, her movements became more fluid – ultimately assured by her progress to date.

In the beginning, she’d walk only a few steps – then another and one more. I asked her once how she accomplished so much. “I’ve had good days and I’ve had bad,” she said. “But, I never let it get me down.”

When we think of resilience, sometimes we consider only in terms of grande, sweeping gestures; the ‘better’ of our moments – the ones in which we have clearly risen above. Though, do we consider the day to day? The clumsier movements leading to that step after next?

“The world is full of pain, uncertainty, and injustice,” Jack Kornfield writes. “But in this vulnerable human life, every loss is an opportunity either to shut out the world or to stand up with dignity and let the heart respond.”

“To let the heart respond” – this is the basis of our practice. To embrace our status with conviction, not judgement; to encourage resilience in those much smaller steps.

“We need a warriors heart,” he continues to share. “(one) that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.”

For my friend, this tenacious old woman, every single step was a reminder – a reminder of her potential in spite of the pain.

A little something to consider, my friends – particularly, on those not so better days.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Benefit of Love’s Illumination.

There’s a message written upon the mirror in my bedroom, “Love until you become one with love.”

I placed it there nearly 4 years ago in a moment of heartbreak and profound disillusion. Looking back, I must say – I can’t even recall the true nature of my circumstances. Nonetheless, the words flowed.

Some might say this was a moment of divine clarity, though – I’d like to think the message was there all along.

“Love until you become one with love…”

Each of us wants to be loved, though – have we the courage to effect its ‘return’?

When the heart is open like the sky, love comes so easily. Yet, beyond the boundaries of belief and trust, uncertainty begs its intrusion – often keeping us from love’s greatest bounty.

Though when we become ‘one with love’, as Jack Kornfield describes – the sunlight of heavens pierce through all veils,
‘illuminating everyday forms like a Michelangelo masterpiece.’

In this way, the boundaries to love are similarly paled.

A little something to consider, my friends…

In peace…

Namaste ❤

A Completed Compassion.

“If your compassion doesn’t include yourself, it is incomplete,” shares author, Jack Kornfield.

But, what does that mean?

Isn’t compassion initiated through action to another living soul? If so, then what is our role within it?

Are we the actor, or are we the catalyst? Does the action of doing forge the connection?

Or…

Does the energy require an inward introspection? Must we first connect with the rawness of our own spiritual unrest in order to engage that of another?

Surely, this awareness would help to hasten our bond ~ demonstrating connection through the conduit of open heart.

Though, perhaps its meaning is much simpler still — that a compassion realized is one to be shared.

A little something to consider, my loves…that the truest compassion bears no condition.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️