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Hey, You’ve Accomplished A LOT!
Take a look at your accomplishment list and give yourself a pat on the back! You did those things despite the challenges.
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Home > Blog > Category: Current Events
Take a look at your accomplishment list and give yourself a pat on the back! You did those things despite the challenges.
When life looks gloomy and events drag us down, it helps to remember that change is in the air (even if we can’t immediately see it).
"We desperately need people who are learning how to see the connections between our personal suffering and the suffering of living beings with whom we share this planet."
"And know your power to fight back / Survived the flames"
"As we meet big life changes, what do we need to release for our own renewal?"
"We may not always see the pivotal cusp of a cultural shift until we are on the other side of it. But make no mistake; we are living into it now."
"Finding ways to re-center and connect with our hearts during stressful times is crucial, reminding us to breathe." A video presentation.
Every generation must face the challenges that arise in their lifetime: situations that test the courage, grit, and moral convictions of our species.
May we take the time learn so that we do not repeat the hateful mistakes of the past or continue the harm being done to our friends, neighbors, and families in the LGBTQ community.
When we listen, we learn how to help. Collectively, we can then engage in the work that moves us toward a world that never permits the harassment and killing of black lives,
I want to spend my time with people who are working for positive change and who care about the wellbeing of humanity and the planet.
But today, I feel like crying because I want to hug tight the people I love. I want us to make it through this. I want us to do better. To learn from this. To care more. To be more compassionate.
Being open to the unknown can feel scary. Putting ourselves in unfamiliar situations may also cause us to feel nervous. But on the other side of such discomfort and fear are often illuminating learning opportunities.
Love of one another: Such a simple concept in theory. Such an extraordinary leap of faith in practice. There is no more powerful lesson than learning how to gently lean into love.
We will need to see beyond man-made geographic borders, man-made flags, man-made wars, and man-made separations. We will need to expand our ideas of what it means to truly love.
When we offer kindness to a friend or a stranger, when we teach children how to care for the environment, when we seek solutions to problems, when we discover better ways of responding, when we eat healthy foods, when we plant trees in urban areas, and when we act with awareness and compassion, we bring beauty to the world.
We plant seeds of universal accord when we remember that we are here, as guests, for only a brief while. What makes us truly happy is never that which destroys. Rather, it is the connection to our Source and to our hearts that nourishes a deep, abiding love for humanity, for wildlife, for nature, and for our planet.
Our hearts seek comfort from things of beauty. We find solace in metaphors, stories, prayers, and songs. We gain strength from those creative souls who remind us, again and again, why we are here. They show us that we can do this hard thing: We can get up each day, do our work in this world, and stay awake to both our sorrow and our joy.
Our heart will let us know what is being asked of us. Maybe at its source our anger is actually fear: fear that our loved ones are at risk, fear that we are not enough, fear that we are powerless, or fear that we cannot solve our current problems. Fear wears many masks. Mindfulness practices may also reveal the deep love or sadness hidden beneath our anger.
Make your corner of the world a little happier, and, no matter where you end up in life, you’ll have done better than well—you’ll have done good. Don’t worry about building a monument to yourself and your accomplishments, it’ll be built anyway; first and foremost, give joy to the people around you, love deeply, be honest, be upright, be worthy of admiration, devote yourself to being a force of good in a world that all too often feels indifferent to the very concept of goodness. Minor Myers Jr. said it best; “Go out into the world and do well. More importantly, go out into the world and do good.”
Our cultural, race, religious, gender, and ethnic differences are not the enemies. The real enemies are: ignorance, greed, hate, fear, and prejudice. Alice Walker says, “I think we have to own the fears that we have of each other, and then, in some practical way, some daily way, figure out how to see people differently than the way we were brought up to.”
Married in June, Johnna and Tay Tidwell are young newlyweds—though their wedding didn’t happen exactly the way they envisioned. When they became engaged, their original plan was to wed in Canada, where same-sex marriages are legal. The wedding plans changed when an Indiana federal judge struck down the ban on same-sex marriages on June 25, 2014. Johnna and Tay married the next day at the clerk's office, shortly before a judicial stay halted any further marriage licenses for same-sex couples in Indiana
We are birthing a new world . . . because that is what women do. We birth ideas, children, and a vision of what may be.
That insight hit me as I was standing near friends and the House voted to delete one sentence banning civil unions from the proposed amendment. It was an important partial victory for those in attendance. The next thing that happened surprised me. A close friend began sobbing, a body-racking, heart-felt release welling up and pouring out from a place deep within. It was humbling to witness her vulnerability and raw, uncensored human emotion. It was as though she had been holding her breath, sealed off tight in a protected vault somewhere, and someone had finally told her it was safe to breathe.
While honoring and celebrating the birth of Jesus, some people also thoughtfully reflect upon the message of a man whose life was taken because he spoke out publically for those who were suffering. His message remains one of love. For others, the Solstice celebrations, Hanukkah traditions, and arrival of a New Year bring enormous gratitude for all the gifts received throughout the year, as well as thoughtful decisions on how to be of service to those who are less fortunate.