With Palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Awake at 3:45 AM I painted, read the news, and found myself crying. What evoked such a reaction in me was the story of soldiers with fatigues and 40 pound packs marching the Boston marathon only to race to assist victims in the aftermath of the bombings. I have done a marathon and a score of half marathons, and I can tell you at the end of 26.2 miles even under the best conditions, a body is thoroughly exhausted, yet these soldiers leapt into action without knowing if another explosion was imminent and assisted victims. This is selfless service. To me, this is the best of the bodhisattva ideal made manifest before our eyes.
So, this morning at 9:00 AM when I take my seat to practice zazen at the Veteran’s Memorial on Roadrunner Parkway, I will keep these soldiers and others in my mind’s eye. It’s not that soldiers are the ideal: millions of others from all walks of life typify selfless service on a daily basis, it’s that these soldiers and scores of others did not hesitate and were caught in the act by our media. And there they were, residing in my heart. They are a blessing in the universe and I bow to them.
We all need reminders that our world is filled with caring and compassionate beings. We too easily forget this, I think, in the flood of awful events that seem to happen moment to moment on our planet. Yet for every destructive, violent act, there are countless acts of loving kindness. We should keep these in mind as a context when we read the news through the day. I am thankful for the reminders these soldiers provide. May they evoke the bodhisattva ideal in each of us.
Be well,
Good Morning Everyone,
Awake at 3:45 AM I painted, read the news, and found myself crying. What evoked such a reaction in me was the story of soldiers with fatigues and 40 pound packs marching the Boston marathon only to race to assist victims in the aftermath of the bombings. I have done a marathon and a score of half marathons, and I can tell you at the end of 26.2 miles even under the best conditions, a body is thoroughly exhausted, yet these soldiers leapt into action without knowing if another explosion was imminent and assisted victims. This is selfless service. To me, this is the best of the bodhisattva ideal made manifest before our eyes.
So, this morning at 9:00 AM when I take my seat to practice zazen at the Veteran’s Memorial on Roadrunner Parkway, I will keep these soldiers and others in my mind’s eye. It’s not that soldiers are the ideal: millions of others from all walks of life typify selfless service on a daily basis, it’s that these soldiers and scores of others did not hesitate and were caught in the act by our media. And there they were, residing in my heart. They are a blessing in the universe and I bow to them.
We all need reminders that our world is filled with caring and compassionate beings. We too easily forget this, I think, in the flood of awful events that seem to happen moment to moment on our planet. Yet for every destructive, violent act, there are countless acts of loving kindness. We should keep these in mind as a context when we read the news through the day. I am thankful for the reminders these soldiers provide. May they evoke the bodhisattva ideal in each of us.
Be well,
No comments:
Post a Comment