Tag: unity

Between the Two.

I remember once standing at the edge of a massive ravine. At one end, the trees stood flourishing. And, at the other end – a near desolate wasteland. I thought to myself, how could the two so easily co-exist? And, yet – between the stark disparity, there seemed an effortless blending.

“Why must it be one or the other,” I said to myself. “Something is or it isn’t – but, in reality, there’s so much more.

What we see is merely one aspect of a much fuller dimension. From afar, a flat image comes to life – triggering the sense of days gone by. We become caught up in the sentiment – a judgement before the experience begins.

Sri Niargadatta reminds us so poignantly through his writing, “There is only one mistake you are making: you mistake the outer for the inner, and the inner for the outer. What is in you, you take to be outside you and what is outside, you take to be within.”

Our ‘fault’, if you will, is assuming this world to be entirely objective. When in reality, much of what we experience is a matter of projection. What we’ve long viewed as ‘separate’, can it not also be connected in source and cause?

As we navigate this day, I urge all to remain open to each new experience…to appreciated the subtlety between the two.

In peace, my sweet friends…

Namaste ❣

When Pathmaker and Pathfinder Become as One.

I remember as a child placing my hand upon a snow encrusted elm.

An unexpected winter storm had ravaged the area leaving the surrounding trails largely unreachable. Save for one, where the downed tree had graciously offered its service.

I saw her first from a distance, her shattered limbs marking a faint outline of the path’s ‘former self.’ And, hinting at the dangers yet to come.

I should have felt fear, but as the howling winds whipped across my half-frozen cheeks I could think of only one thing…

My appreciation for that which is not often seen, and moment which are often missed.

As I lay my hand across the roughened bark, I felt an undeniable connection. For a fleeting moment, I lost all sense of ‘self’.

That’s how it begins, you know – our growing awareness of our unity and connection. Reminding us that sometimes we are both path-finder and path-maker all at once.

This is the way nature’s lesson unfolds.

In peace…

Namaste ❤

Serving the Betterment of Spirit.

There’s a lot going on in the world today. On a political level, our nation is divided as we struggle amidst the impassioned rhetoric of each opposing party.

Worse yet, we are becoming further isolated from our friends and family abroad, a loftier fear replacing our need to be ‘as one’.
Meanwhile, ‘self’ secures the shadow where the seeds of compassion once grew.

Abraded by our present surroundings, we become slightly less tolerant. Conditions which once evoked empathy, now provoke reaction.

And, where does that leave us, my friends? Have we made better, so we love deeper – or, have we simply fallen deeper into the well?

Likewise, how much of our reaction is based in truth rather than what we anticipate?

A dear friend once commented that we react to that which we fear. Instinctively we prepare for ‘battle’, drawing inward as we ‘bare our teeth.’

And in this polarized ‘fight to the finish’ we lose what makes us human: faith in that which stands higher still, and a compassion unwilling to concede to such influences.

Coming together is never a loss, my loves – rather, each and every action serves the betterment of spirit.

A little something to consider, my friends ~

In peace…

Namaste ❤

Bridging the Gulf Between.

“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.” the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once shared. “A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves.”

On one hand, we wish to preserve the integrity of our moral code…to raise the collective voice of faith, hope and reason. At heart, we know that we are one human family.

And, yet? How often our deeds may fail.

We hesitate in this space of fear, our hearts tightening as we struggle with the magnitude of the events and circumstances surrounding. Though we may wish for change, we question our ability to serve as a catalyst for it.
“How can one voice create a lasting impact?” we might ask.

In the end, the only way to know is to do. To stand for that which compels our purpose – to water the seeds of compassion and courage.

Even when the toxicity of another is great, we mustn’t allow their poison to confuse.

“The hope of a livable world,” he writes. “lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.”

A little something to consider, my loves…

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

A Blessing Through Handmade Paper Heart.

I saw a child today, so precious and small. In her hands, lovingly tucked, a parcel of handmade paper hearts.
 
“These are for my friends,” she gleamed.
 
Her father explained the ‘challenges’ she’d experienced, having been born with a rare genetic defect. “Downs Syndrome,” he said. “Can you believe they asked if we wanted to keep her?”
 
“Kids can be so cruel,” he said as his eyes began to tear. “We tried to explain that she was different, but…”
 
As if being different were a sin.
 
She began this process of creating paper hearts. Long into the night, she’d whittle and work in wonderment. And, then? She’d tuck the hearts into a drawstring bag only to return with it empty again.
 
“We don’t know why,” he said, smiling. “I suppose it’s just how she is.”
 
Never one to shy from curiosity, I scrunched down, leaned in and asked, “Darling, where do the hearts go each day?”
 
I already knew the answer.
 
“I give them to my friends,” she said. “Because all our hearts are the same.”
 
And with impish grin, she shared one with me, too.
 
Indeed, our hearts bridge where the eyes deceive. We are all one – precious, beautiful, imperfect human beings.
 
And though I’ve received many hearts in my day, this one – I believe this to be one of my most loved.
 
In peace, my darlings – and with cherished blessings, that we might all know the boundlessness these littlest of hearts may bring.
 
Namaste <3
 

A Return to Unity.

I’ve been troubled by the recent escalation of violence, my loves. Not simply for the gravity of action itself, but likewise for the polarization created in its aftermath.

Like the wake of a boat, it divides even the most tumultuous of sea – with white capped rage, rising to fear’s place.

And yet, always following there is a sense of calm, as the waters retreat to their natural state. Because, even the most violent of ‘waves’ knows it’s longing.

Humanity is much like the ocean, my loves. Though, at times, divided – it is ultimately connected in service to all. It is our true source, without which – we’d fail to survive.

Senator Robert Kennedy once spoke to the irony of our fellow man “with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort.” He spoke of a shared common fear, resulting in the impulse to meet disagreement with force.

Though, I am compelled to ask – how has this force dared to serve us?

My darlings, I’m hopeful today we might reflect upon these words; that they may offer pause in the place of a ‘knee jerk’ reaction.

Only then, may our hearts be returned to unity.

In peace, my loves…

Namaste ❤️

Inside the Pale Blue Dot.

In his book, The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, Carl Sagan writes:

“From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it’s different. Consider again that dot.

That’s here.

That’s home.

That’s us.

On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”

Technology has certainly caused our world to become far more accessible. Gone are the days in which faraway lands are limited to the bindings of a book. And, the atrocities of our human condition relegated to the ‘barely imaginable.’

Indeed, our world is much ‘smaller’ now – compact, cozier, pulled together. And though, we’re never more than a few keystrokes away – at times, it seems, communication has become nearly impossible.

“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.” he continues. “Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.”

In the Buddhist practice of ‘touching the earth’, we are able to return to our roots, so to speak – to connect with the spiritual energy of our ancestors, and realize that we are never alone.

In touching this Earth, we release our ideas of separateness to embrace our place in this much greater whole.

A single point of light within a “vast cosmic arena” – on a pale blue spinning dot, on the only home we’ve ever known

To touch the Earth is to become humbled once again; with hearts drawn wide-open to the plight of all living beings.

It is perhaps, one of the greatest lesson of our teachings – that we are indeed one, and not ever alone.

Namaste.