“This can be your problem or your purpose,” she said to me.

It was someone with whom I once worked, who so graciously helped me to navigate this path of Parkinson’s. I was terrified and alone. And she knew it

I wanted to say a million different things… “You don’t understand” “it’s a lot harder than you think” or “How dare you try to stand in these shoes?”

But that’s nearly always the case, now isn’t it? When presented a problem, we immediately recoil and reject. We focus on the why, instead of the why not.

Life is always there to teach. Even in these seemingly desperate, we learn of faith – of another’s and our own.

Life doesn’t end in the span of one painful moment. It opens, it expands, it fills us with the light of a divine purpose. Though, we may feel lost — rest assured, spirit finds itself here. Waiting to usher us home.

Wee it not for that moment; I wouldn’t know the bonds of true friendship. I wouldn’t understand this lesson of hope. Or how love conquers all in the end.

Though, most of all I wouldn’t have this space here to share; sadly, I may have missed the gift of your light.

But for that one flickering moment of belief, I’d have surely lost my way.

My darlings, when we believe – we engage this world in an entirely new way; that is through the gentle arms of optimism, hope and love.

Namaste ~ ❤️

Dear Lord, on this day grant me more;

More than enough love to resolve the hate in this world; more space to yield to the stillness of peace.

And, oh Lord – please show me the way.

Grant me the capacity to see a man for what he is, one human heart inseparable from all of humanity.

Dear Lord, on this day grant me more;

More than enough courage to hold faith in both hands; and strength enough to heal the wounds of this world.

Allow me the ability to distinguish self from ‘all the rest’, to separate the emotion of pain from the actual experience.

Dear Lord, help me to shift this burden of unrest, allowing dialogue to become an integral part of our healing practice.

And as these hours on earth continue to unfold, I pray;

Dear Lord, on this day grant me more.
Dear Lord, on this day grant me more;

More than enough love to resolve the hate in this world; more space to yield to the stillness of peace.

And, oh Lord – please show me the way.

Grant me the capacity to see a man for what he is, one human heart inseparable from all of humanity.

Dear Lord, on this day grant me more;

More than enough courage to hold faith in both hands; and strength enough to heal the wounds of this world.

Allow me the ability to distinguish self from ‘all the rest’, to separate the emotion of pain from the actual experience.

Dear Lord, help me to shift this burden of unrest, allowing dialogue to become an integral part of our healing practice.

And as these hours on earth continue to unfold, I pray;

Dear Lord, on this day grant me more.

 

copyright 2015, Tara Lemieux

[blockquote source=”Pema Chodron”]”The Buddha said that we are never separated from enlightenment. Even at the times we feel most stuck, we are never alienated from the awakened state. This is a revolutionary assertion. Even ordinary people like us with hang-ups and confusion have this mind of enlightenment called bodhichitta.

The openness and warmth of bodhichitta is in fact our true nature and condition. Even when our neurosis feels far more basic than our wisdom, even when we’re feeling most confused and hopeless, bodhichitta—like the open sky—is always here, undiminished by the clouds that temporarily cover it.”[/blockquote]

My darlings, I hope you’ll not mind my sharing ~ not too long ago, I found myself ‘stuck’ in a terribly abusive relationship. Each day I lived in fear of that ‘time bomb’ going off – and, to the extent that I sadly began to retreat into myself.

For years I struggled with this sense of loss of my former self – once vibrant, always smiling, and never once worried about what the others might think.

Sometimes, the actions of others can have more of an impact than we might ever anticipate.

And, I was so spiritually unprepared for this experience. You see, my life up to this point had been filled with loving-kindness, mostly mutual respect, and a common hope for all of mankind. I was a dreamer, and a believer that all good stories ended well.

But, we’re never really prepared my darlings – to face those aspects of self that most need our love. When we’re beaten down, sometimes it’s hard to imagine ever getting up again.

One day, I’ll never forget, I heard a yelp from my pup. As I raced downstairs, there he was – cowering in a corner, with this viscous hateful man towering above.

“Leave…him…alone,” I screeched, racing to his aid.

And, in doing so, I walked straight into a closed fist to my cheek.

You might think something like this is spiritually unrecoverable – that once damaged in this way, those pieces remain broken.

But, that is the heart of this teaching, my dears – to understand, even in our worst moments, that the warmth of the bodhichitta is still there.

As I struggled to my feet, I could see in his eyes – that this was a man potentially more broken than anyone else. Now, I won’t say I felt sorry for him – particularly, not in that moment. Though, I will say, something happened that I could finally begin to see the humanity in his face.

“Even at the times we feel most stuck, we are never alienated from the awakened state…even when we’re feeling most confused and hopeless the bodhichitta is always here.”

Ironically, what started as fear and desperation – eventually became one of my most transformative moments. As Ani Pema might say, “Wherever we are, we can train as a warrior…We train when we’re caught off guard and when our life is up in the air.”

Indeed, without these gut-wrenching, questioning-our-soul sort of moments – would we ever truly know the heart of the Bodhisattva warrior?

My darlings, it’s precisely because of this experience that I am better able to connect with your beautiful hearts here each day.

Proving that sometimes our awakening ‘arrives’ when it’s least expected.

So, don’t be afraid to open this gift, my loves – as, it could be the very one you’ve wished for all your life.

[blockquote source=”Anthon St. Maarten”]“You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.” [/blockquote]

My darlings, I wanted to share with you today one of my favorite images. Such a stunning capture of a little girl playing outside a Ulingan charcoal factory in Manila.

For this beautiful young soul, these charred remains serve as both her playground and her home – without which, her family could not survive.

The wood is collected and then burned into charcoal, providing just barely enough sustenance to live.

These children work in the most hazardous of conditions, but it is the light in their hearts that sees them through.

From the artist, Mio Cade,

[blockquote]”I could not remember this little girl name. But she was very curious of my camera. She requested me to take a photo of her playing the hula hoop. She was so happy to be photographed and kept asking for more photos.. Kuya, photo me, kuya photo me. I remember her sweet voice.

At the end I hugged her and swing her around like a hula hoop. She was overjoyed. To me she was a little princess. She was so adorable.”[/blockquote]

The Divine exists within all things, my dears. It is cultivated by way of our shared compassion, and amplified through the depth of our experiences.

It is our curiosity, our fascination, our generosity of spirit…And, more important than anything else, it is thread that connects each human spirit.

We are but a single speck of stardust, my darlings – yes, that’s true.

But, it is only through this tiny spectacle of our being, that the whole of the Universe may survive.

And, proving beyond all shadows of doubt – that we are, in fact, beautifully radiant manifestations of that which we call the Divine.

“Love without action is irrelevant, but action without love is meaningless.” – Deepak Chopra

I read an article some time ago, about a young mother who lost her son to gang violence. He had been out enjoying an evening with friends, when a simple disagreement escalated to the point of no return.

Oshea Isreal was just 16-years-old at the time, when he raised his weapon to ‘silence’ the words of Mary Johnson’s only child.

“At the trial I hated Oshea,” she recounts with tears in her eyes.  “I thought he was an animal and he deserved to be caged. I was so angry when the judge charged him with second-degree murder, instead of first degree. I became a recluse and couldn’t look at my son’s photos.”

It would have been easy – perhaps, even expected – for Mary to continue to hate the young man who murdered her son. Though, at the sentencing hearing she instead told Oshea that she forgave him.

“I really didn’t know what forgiveness was,” Mary said, explaining that it took some time for those words to really ring true. But, she needed to know that she could someday forgive her son’s killer.

After many repeated attempts, Oshea finally agreed to meet with the bereaved mother.

“I believe the first thing she said to me was, ‘Look, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. Let’s just start with right now,'” Oshea says.

Mary explained that she wanted to know if Oshea was the same heartless, emotionless monster she remembered from court. “But, you were not that 16-year-old. You were a grown man. And, I shared with you about my son.”

“And,” as Oshea recalls, “He became human to me.”

By the end of their first meeting at the prison, Mary was overcome by emotion – knowing that the pain, the anger, the bitterness of the past 12 years had been lifted.

“Unforgiveness is like cancer,” she says. “It will eat you from the inside out. It’s not about that other person, me forgiving him does not diminish what he’s done. Yes, he murdered my son – but the forgiveness is for me.”

To that end, Mary established From Death to Life, a support group for mothers who have lost their children to violence.

And, today? The two live literally side by side – with Oshea finally knowing the love a Mother’s heart can bring. “It motivates me to make sure that I stay on the right path,” he says. “You still believe in me. And the fact that you can do it, despite how much pain I caused you — it’s amazing.”

Indeed, isn’t it amazing the changes forgiveness brings?

There is great power in the action of forgiveness, but only when predicated on the energy of love.

From one simple conversation, two strangers destined to hate – together, forged a path that would help countless others to heal.

 

 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
― Mother Teresa

A friend reached out to me today, discouraged that his online community wasn’t growing.

“I’ve tried,” he said, “but to no avail.”

I watched as disappointment clung to his every word, like a shadow unyielding to the light.

Defeat has a palpable tenderness about it. One that forces heart awareness through the drawing down of our defenses.

It is a laying down of our spiritual arms, if you will ~ and one that leaves us most open to this world.

“Have a little faith, ok?” as I reached for his hand “Remember, true community isn’t built upon the frame of our ‘house’, rather it is built upon the foundation of love.”

My dears, we often despair when expectation slips; our Faith wearing thinly with each new ‘stone’ that is cast.

But even the heaviest of burdens can become our most profound spiritual release – helping the roots of Purpose will find their way, once again.

“Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.” – Pema Chödrön

It is within these indestructible pieces of ‘me’, that the irons of resilience are forged.

Much love, my dears, on this most beautiful day.

And remember, community is so much more than a simple gathering place…

In time, and with love, it becomes the truest reflection of our faith.