Dear friends –
I recently wrote about how important it is to be the change in the world. Being the change is about taking action, but also about simply being. It is about the way we show up in the world every day, whatever we are doing. It is about how we treat others. It is about our ability to find beauty and gratitude in every moment.
I am reminded of a story about a revered monk who was on his deathbed. His dying wish was to taste one last time a slice of his favourite cake. As he finished the cake, his disciples asked him to share his final words of wisdom. He smiled, and said “This cake is delicious”.
Whatever is going on in the wider world, we can treasure all the simple pleasures we are still experiencing. Our access to food. Our loving relationships. Our beautiful environment and the healing powers of nature.
Over these past few months we have been inundated with information. The sheer volume and complexity of the information have at times felt overwhelming.
After long weeks of long hours trying to piece together a coherent narrative, eventually I had to surrender to not knowing. In that surrender was a profound peace and freedom. I found acceptance for what is, without judgement. It is not good, or bad; it simply is. In deep surrender, in the peace of “no mind”, I found an enduring faith in the goodness of humanity. I found that after all is said and done, what remains is love.
And it is this love that holds the power to shift the planet.
Operating from our minds, we debate and fight over our interpretations and judgements of what is happening. We get stuck in our corners. We feel angry and resentful.
Operating from love, we understand that we are all doing our best – we all want to minimize suffering. We reach out and try to build bridges. We focus on healing the divisions in our society.
We recognise that chaos on the outside reflects chaos on the inside, so we use these powerful times to focus on healing the divisions in ourselves.
I have found peace in a Buddhist practice of sending loving kindness to the world. To ourselves, to our loved ones, to those we feel neutral to, and to people we struggle with. I find forgiveness and compassion.
In these challenging times, let us remember to be humble, to be kind, to be loving and to be joyful.
love
Margaret
"This moment humanity is going through now can be seen as a portal and as a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the portal is up to you. If you repent of the problem and consume the news 24 hours a day, with little energy, nervous all the time, with pessimism, you will fall into the hole. But if you take this opportunity to look at yourself, rethink life and death, take care of yourself and others, you will cross the portal.
Take care of your homes, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual House.
When you are taking care of yourselves, you are taking care of everything else. Do not lose the spiritual dimension of this crisis, have the eagle aspect, that from above, and see the whole; see more broadly….
Don’t feel guilty about being happy during this difficult time. You do not help at all being sad and without energy. You help if good things emanate from the Universe now. It is through joy that one resists. Also, when the storm passes, each of you will be very important in the reconstruction of the new world. You need to be well and strong. And for that, there is no other way than to maintain a beautiful, happy and bright vibration.
This is what is asked of you: Allow yourself to take advantage of this time to perform your vision seeking rituals. What world do you want to build for you? For now, this is what you can do: serenity in the storm. Calm down, pray every day. Establish a routine to meet the sacred every day.
Good things emanate; what you emanate now is the most important thing. And sing, dance, resist through art, joy, faith and love."
