"The major block to compassion is the judgment in our minds. Judgment is the mind's primary tool of separation."
Diane Berke in The Gentle Smile
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| ICAD 34 - 23/7/11 |
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| ICAD 29 - 17/7/11 |
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| ICAD 30 - 18/7/11 |
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| ICAD 31 - 19/7/11 |
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| ICAD 33 - 22/7/11 |
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| ICAD 32 - 21/7/11 |
Missing you this week, dear blog and blogger friends. Words have seemed very hard to find somehow in a week full of questions. Then the weekend.... full of more and more sad news and loss of life.
Someone told me this week, that she teaches her adopted and birth children the answer to a very important question. She asks them, "Who do you love?" and when they come up with a long list of other people, she makes sure that they add in "I love me." Yeah, don't forget to love yourself, little one. You need your love too. Hey! Incredible!
It really comes at the top of the list, doesn't it? What is just as important to teach them, is the answer to the question, "How do you love you?" How we model our own self-care and self-love is also vital. Shockingly I only just learned this in the past 6 months! It still feels like such an amazing realisation, like a big black cloud suddenly opened up to show the sunlight shining through. When I think about it now as I type this, my mind still cannot quite grasp it and my mouth wants to drop open in a big round OH!
When I think about all of the hurt and damaged children there are in the world, I know that not all of them can be healed. Then all of the hurt and damaged adults, who society likes to point at and shake it's head, and to blame. How do we stop all of this suffering and pain? How do we as a society become more compassionate? How can society best help those in need? Sometimes there are no answers and we just have to live in the questions.
Your cards are getting very creative. Have you noticed that? Keep posting them please!
ReplyDeleteI love your cards.... I have to look more closely to be ale to read what you wrote though.... maybe if I wore my glasses....
ReplyDeleteI share your concern about hurt and damaged children... I always wondered how we can save them and stop their hurting... I used to always feel bad for hurt children but this feeling intensified once I had my own...if I could only have super powers to stretch my hands and build a protective circle around every child, living thing and woman in this world, I would be a happier person... lots of love to you!
I'm loving your cards. I've done a few but not managed anything like one a day. You really seem to be exploring some deep ideas lately. Great work.
ReplyDeletei am loving all the images. especially the puzzled hand and heart.
ReplyDeletethe other night i went to pick up eggs from my neighbor (she has chickens). i heard chanting coming from her home. i sat and listened but also felt i was being intrusive. so i left. she later told me she has buddhist meetings. we then had this whole conversation of compassion and how does one even begin to attempt to heal the world. i am going to the next meeting.
thank you for these images, questions and reflections... xo
Aww thank you for your encouragement as always on my cards. Not sure they are getting more creative - although I am liking the fact that I am able to just bang out a card after work without much thought or care....it's not really me. I like to take my time and work and work until it feels just right. Good to do both through. I suppose I have to view them as a kind of art journal - for ideas and creative juices to get going!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your explorations into Buddhism Jojo. I agree lana - just wish we could protect humans from hurt but I guess we just have to accept that suffering is here to stay and learn how best to help and get through it.