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If we had compassion - suffered with another - all wars and feuds and vendettas would end. All the world's spiritual traditions promote compassion as a way to become fully human and to reveal divine LOVE. So why do we find it so difficult?
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"Your heart is the only true gift you can give." The old and weathered heart, rich in life and experience. The wounded heart, overflowing with empathy and compassion. The broken heart, fissured and chipped, reflecting the transformative power of love. The grateful heart, attentive, mindful, receptive. An authentic heart, a heart that speaks the truth. What makes our hearts sing? Who expands and enriches our heart song? Does charity and compassion overflow from our hearts to others? What shrivels and poisons our heart? How do we reveal the heart of God? How do we express our concern for others? How do we use our gifts to enable and empower others? What acts of kindness can we do to reveal our shared humanity? What are the common threads that unite us? How is compassion revealed in our everyday actions? Chinese poet, Yang Wanli, in the 12th century wrote
Don’t read books! Don’t chant poems! When you read books your eyeballs wither away leaving the bare sockets. When you chant poems your heart leaks out slowly with each word. People say reading books is enjoyable. People say chanting poems is fun. But if your lips constantly make a sound like an insect chirping in autumn, you will only turn into a haggard old man. And even if you don’t turn into a haggard old man, it’s annoying for others to have to hear you. It’s so much better to close your eyes, sit in your study, lower the curtains, sweep the floor, burn incense. It’s beautiful to listen to the wind, listen to the rain, take a walk when you feel energetic, and when you’re tired go to sleep. How do we face evil - the huge atrocities that besiege our world; the grave malevolence that assaults nations; the intimate violations that attack the very core of our being? How do we retain our sense of dignity as human beings? How do we accompany others? How do we rise above everything that besieges our souls and become who we are invited to be? How do we face evil? A snapshot of an interesting woman and her personal environment. What do our intimate surroundings reflect of us? Are we immersed in our personal, family and cultural history? How is our story embedded in our environment? Can we grow in wisdom and creativity in sterile or contrived environments? Are the people in our space more important than the objects? How does our environment reflect this? Lots to ponder ... The Journey
Mary Oliver One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice -- "Mend my life!" each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognised as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do -- determined to save the only life you could save. Nourish Your Positive Emotions with a Breathing Exercise
Breathing in, I experience calm in me. Breathing out, I smile to the calm in me. Breathing in, I experience joy in me. Breathing out, I smile to the joy in me. Breathing in, I experience equanimity in me. Breathing out, I smile to the equanimity in me. Breathing in, I experience openness in me. Breathing out, I smile to the openness in me. Breathing in, I experience happiness in me. Breathing out, I smile to the happiness in me." Thich Nhat Hanh in Creating True Peace Simply delightful :-) Sometimes we simply need to reclaim the child within. We need to recover the gifts of awe and wonder. We need to find new ways of seeing and experiencing life. Simple. |
Liz PearceI am a doll-maker; a doll interpreter; a doll activist, perhaps, using this medium to reflect on the human condition. Archives
August 2020
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