“To prepare for war, to give millions of men and women the opportunity to practice killing day and night in their hearts, is to plant millions of seeds of violence, anger, frustration and fear that will be passed on for generations to come.” Thich Nhat Hanh
Thank you Deena. So important to keep following these connections. I want to say that as I applauded the countries immediately offering sanctuary to refugees from Ukraine, I remembered those same countries refusing refugees when the refugees were black and brown people. Racism is woven in here too, another thread.
While living in Guatemala in the 1970s, as the build-up to the war there became stronger and stronger, a largely ignored devastation to this day, and as veteran of the Vietnam era trying to "escape" the violence, I watched a young couple I knew throw the I Ching daily in order to find the best way through all the horror that was happening. One day stands out, and one line has stuck with me since then: "The best way to combat evil is to make energetic progress in the good." I must still stand to this. In this, we will never be conquered, never defeated. In this, there is only an outwaiting, of uncertain duration. Thank you again Deena!
We feel helpless in the face of all of this; but who knows what might shift if we pay close attention to the tiny seeds of violence that live within us all.Can we open up and become grounded in love in our meditation, our ways of living ecologically among all beings? Can we recognize our own "tribalism" as a false and dangerous substitute for community? Even the urge to quickly fix what is happening, the anger, the frustration that we feel, is a sign of the war mentality within which we have been taught to live. Infinitesimally small acts and awakenings to love and community go forth to merge with others. How will each of us meet this here and now...today?
Thank you, Deena. Your voice is a piercing clarion call through the cacophony of this moment. Thank you for showing me another way to move through the horrors and wonders of this world.
Thank you Deena. So important to keep following these connections. I want to say that as I applauded the countries immediately offering sanctuary to refugees from Ukraine, I remembered those same countries refusing refugees when the refugees were black and brown people. Racism is woven in here too, another thread.
While living in Guatemala in the 1970s, as the build-up to the war there became stronger and stronger, a largely ignored devastation to this day, and as veteran of the Vietnam era trying to "escape" the violence, I watched a young couple I knew throw the I Ching daily in order to find the best way through all the horror that was happening. One day stands out, and one line has stuck with me since then: "The best way to combat evil is to make energetic progress in the good." I must still stand to this. In this, we will never be conquered, never defeated. In this, there is only an outwaiting, of uncertain duration. Thank you again Deena!
We feel helpless in the face of all of this; but who knows what might shift if we pay close attention to the tiny seeds of violence that live within us all.Can we open up and become grounded in love in our meditation, our ways of living ecologically among all beings? Can we recognize our own "tribalism" as a false and dangerous substitute for community? Even the urge to quickly fix what is happening, the anger, the frustration that we feel, is a sign of the war mentality within which we have been taught to live. Infinitesimally small acts and awakenings to love and community go forth to merge with others. How will each of us meet this here and now...today?
Thank you, Deena. Your voice is a piercing clarion call through the cacophony of this moment. Thank you for showing me another way to move through the horrors and wonders of this world.