EXPRESSING GRATITUDE
When I think of our community of Sangha and our intention to undo the forces of ill-will & isolation within ourselves & our world, I am able to SEE the good; more deeply KNOW the good & GROW in trusting the good that is right here, right now. In our shared connections, we help each other to remember that the way to peace is an inside job.
It’s so easy to feel lost & overwhelmed with the pressing issues that face us every day. And we really don’t find ourselves or fully become ourselves alone. Finding our way ‘home’ happens in relationships, especially when we feel more deeply seen & heard.
The jewel of Sangha – our treasured collective community offers a safe & supportive space to practice mindfulness, compassion, & wisdom.
We begin with ourselves – noticing what we attend to… In the body, in the heart & in the mind. Often, what we attend to carries with it a direct or subtle wish to want more or less of something; to feel fear of losing something; and/or to expect, obsess, or numb out with something.
Wisdom may have a range of meanings, but the wisdom of the Buddha is fairly specific. When he began his exploration, he asked Why do we suffer & is it really possible to be free?
What we see is generally what we get. Given our habits of mind & less recognized bias & fears, we often don’t see things as they ARE. We see things as WE are. Our mindfulness-based practice helps us to meet what is here, just as it is, with kind awareness & curious attention while learning to say ‘This moment is like this.’
There is a growing empathy here – a being able to feel, be honest about, & support awareness of our own experience, be it joy or sorrow, & from that, another’s experience.
We grow in our capacity to see the lotus bloom in the mud; to witness how ‘shared pain is half the pain & shared joy is twice the joy.’ Individually & collectively, we become the illuminating presence that we are looking for in the world.
Thank you, EACH OF YOU, for sharing your practice of the ‘sweet way’ of insight, compassion, & awakening to the good with me.
During this approaching holiday season, may we grow in our capacity to be a light unto each other.
May we savor the good & in being perfectly human, learn to love ourselves & each other, moment by moment, just as we are. May we know the deep peace that grows from our intention to quiet the mind, steady the heart, & grow together in community.
Thank you for your practice!
Love, Karen
