Personal Reflections On Opening the Eyes Of Our Hearts

Photo by Molly: Houseless man sleeping in doorway, Portland, Oregon

 Seeing Injustice, Healing Ourselves

and Each Other

It was a rainy night when I stopped by Powell's Books in downtown Portland, a favorite place to pick up meaningful and wonderful books for myself, my adult sons, and other family and friends. Powell's and other nearby stores were abuzz with shoppers. As I walked back to my car just over a block away, I noticed this man sleeping in a doorway in front of where I had parked. He had a thin mat and a thin blanket. I got in my car and took this picture. And wept. And I had to call my husband because of this wave of grief that was sweeping through me for the suffering of this human being, and knowing that there are countless others like him in Portland, in America, and around the world.

It is said by some that America is the greatest nation on Earth, exceptional and better than all other nations. Yet, we have this. We have people sleeping in doorways and in tents which are scattered all over this area and others. Right along side beauty and love and belonging and abundance, we have the unacceptable. And somehow we tolerate this, this naked raw suffering.

And my heart just breaks open. I weep now. This is painful to speak to, to feel, to see, to truly look at. But look, see, feel, and talk about we must.

Otherwise we stay in our bubbles and turn away. We don't see. And the suffering that we turn a blind eye to is suffering that we, consciously or not, collude in.

And the mindless debates will rage on. Shall we focus on "making America great again" while blaming poverty on the poor, or shall we look honesty and deeply at poverty in America and around the world and address the root causes? Shall we fund the military machine or CHIP ― the Children's Health Insurance Program? Shall we send thousands of young people to countries that endanger their lives and that these young people do not know, or shall we endorse DACA ―The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ― and a path forward for citizenship? Shall we build walls and turn away refugees, or shall we welcome and stand in protection of all who suffer and are at risk? Shall we fund war or shall we fund peace, affirming that war is not peace and that violence only begets more violence? Shall we continue the fossil fuel funded "debate" about climate change and our warming planet, or shall we say enough is enough, end the toxic lies and fictitious debate, and act strongly right now on behalf of the greater good for all life on Earth?

And the list goes on. Bottom line, we're all on our human paths. And we are either growing more contracted or more expansive. We are more fiercely defending our illusions and ignorance, or we are cultivating a passionate and courageous commitment to truth, wherever the threads of truth shall lead. We are feeding our fears, justifying our judgments, and fueling our sense of separateness, or we are opening our hearts more deeply, lifting the veils of our illusions, and bravely allowing ourselves to see what we see, know what we know, and feel what we feel. We cannot be capable of truly taking a stand against injustice if we do not see injustice and feel it. We cannot be part of the healing on the planet if we are not first attending to our own hearts. We all need each other in this process, in this birthing of a kinder world that is working to emerge within us and the beautiful Earth Mother we share. We are all connected.

So I sit here with tears in my eyes and an aching heart and gratitude for the capacity to see, to feel, to care. Grief and gratitude are so often woven together, as are joy and sorrow, courage and consciousness, compassion and kindness, wisdom and love. It remains my spiritual belief that the ripples of the strong and sacred heart energy in us all is what will awaken and heal our world...

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere... A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." ― Martin Luther King, Jr.

Another world is possible. No action we take is too small to make a difference as we increasingly join together to work toward a more just, caring, sustainable, and peaceful world. Our strong voices, the kindness reflected in our smiles, our fierce compassionate actions, the beauty and love and wisdom rooted in our true nature ― all of this and more is needed. May each of us root ever more deeply into what it is that we bring to our individual and collective tables which in some way acts to alleviate the suffering in the world, in our families and communities, and in our own hearts.

May our hearts remain open.

May we know the beauty of our true nature.

May we be healed. 

May we be at peace.

❤ 

Bless us all ― Molly