Practicing Generosity
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Something is ending.
Something new
Begins.
It seems
In some days,
That
One billion
Things end.
Then
Do
One-billion-and-one
New
Things
Begin?
~~~
I’ve been thinking of being a
Child of the ‘60’s.
Even though I was a
Nice Jewish girl
In college,
I identified,
I so
Identified
With
The
Hippy
Movement,
Flower-power.
Marijuana-power.
The anti-war
Movement.
The civil-rights
Movement.
I truly believed
WE could
Make a change.
I truly believed
WE could
Make a difference.
I joined the Peace Corps.
Of course, I did.
I taught for almost two decades
In an inner-city high school.
Of course, I did.
I joined an ashram.
Of course
I did.
I believed
Justice
Would
Prevail.
I believed
Equality
Would
Win.
WE
SHALL
OVERCOME.
I did believe.
What is ending
In my life?
One of the
Many endings
is…
I don’t believe that now.
Not quite like that.
Not in the same ways.
~~~
What is ending?
My innocence?
My optimism?
My flower-power
New-Agey-
Woo-woo?
What is ending?
My doing?
And pushing against?
My forcing change?
My inability
To feel
The
Suffering,
Since
I’m too busy
Trying
To change it?
~~~
What is beginning
In me?
What’s taking the
Place of the
Starry-eyed,
The believer,
The do-gooder?
I believe—
In me awakens
A deeper capacity to connect.
I believe—
In me awakens
A deeper capacity
To connect
To suffering
In myself
And
In others.
A wider
Understanding
That
Through
The
Suffering
I can
Yet
Again
Imagine.
Not to bypass,
But to connect with.
Not to
spiritually
Transcend,
But to be present with.
Not to force change,
To push against,
To struggle.
But to bear witness.
To abide.
To be with
The suffering
On
Our
Planet.
Perhaps,
In this new way,
I can imagine again.
Perhaps,
In this new way,
From a deeper place.
A more realistic place.
A more sustainable place.
Perhaps
I
Can
Imagine
Again.
Perhaps.
~~~
Please join me in savoring this song. I don’t think it gets any better than this. Old, familiar, comfortable, yet new, different, alive with energy:
~~~
Charles Eisenstein, thinker, author, speaker, is deep and wise. His thoughts are profound and sometimes, I get lost in them. The imagines in this video help ground me. His message rings so true—to offer each other generosity of spirit.
Here is Charles Eisenstein’s Trust Your Heart, at five minutes:
Oh, Netflix folk. Please watch Echo in the Canyon, a 2018 documentary about the 60’s music that flourished in Laurel Canyon in California. It’s inspiring and reminiscent, playing original versions of songs that then-current covers of them. It’s so worth the time, Old Sixties’ People, especially.
~~~
Dear Friends,
What makes you come alive?
How are you here to serve?
How are you here
To contribute?
How are you here
To give?
Generosity
Of
Spirit.
To give
To another.
With a hello.
With
A glance.
To connect,
Even
In
The
Moment
Of
Passing.
To offer
The other,
Presence.
To give consideration.
To be generous.
This is now
My practice.
I can’t change
Big things.
But I can show up
And
Be there.
Maybe
it’s time
For
The
Little
Things.
They count,
Right?
I can
Live
Into
The
Moment.
And
Share
That.
~~~
Dear Friends,
What lights you up?
What touches your heart?
With generosity,
What can you share?
In my world,
Nothing feels better.
~~~
Dear Friends,
Be safe,
Be well.
We are here
To practice
With kindness.
We are here
To practice
With easy
And
Generous
Hearts.
All blessings,
All love,
Aruni