“For me, protesting for what matters is a meditation—opening a sky of compassion and care to the colorful mystery, the procession of cars, beings, clouds, and life.” – Jack Kornfield

Dear friends,

This is a heartbreaking time. The news from Gaza and Darfur, from the Rohingya and Haiti, is heartbreaking. And still, you can do something. Reach out and touch the hearts around you. Send money. Write petitions and send them to politicians. Support the brave friends doing the work to feed the hungry on the ground. Add your voice to love.

I’ve been standing at the freeway exit with a sign, reminding people of the ongoing sorrows and inviting the possibility of justice and love. For me, it is a meditation—opening a sky of compassion and care to the colorful mystery and procession of cars, beings, clouds, and life.

After a thousand cars, some people honk and give a thumbs-up, some pass by silently, a few shout in anger. All good. Find your way to offer your voice, to offer your heart, to reach out and mend or inspire or simply connect with love. It all helps.

Here is a story by Kurt Kauter that can inspire us all:

Tell me the weight of a snowflake”, a coal-mouse asked a wild dove.

“Nothing more than nothing”, came the answer.

“In that case, I must tell you a marvelous story,” the coal-mouse said.

“I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow — not heavily, not in a raging blizzard — no, just like in a dream, without a sound and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd dropped onto the branch — nothing more than nothing, as you say — the branch broke off.”

Having said that, the coal-mouse flew away.

The dove, an authority on this since the time of Noah, thought about the story for awhile, and finally said to herself, “Perhaps there is only one person’s voice lacking for peace to come to the world.

May we all add our unique beauty and powerful voices to help tip the scales of this world to compassion.

Love,
Jack