the violence of our times - here

hatred never ceases by hatred
but by love alone is healed.
this is the ancient and eternal law.
                      ~ the buddha

the news of the shooting
at macy's - burlington mall...
i hear the comment
from around the area..
how could this happen here?

yet why wouldn't it happen here?..
here, there and everywhere is here..
how far away / how close
does it have to be to be here?
st. cloud, minnesota is here,
damascus is here....
istanbul is here ~

how big the world is..
how small this planet
& each step we make..
each breath-
a connecting thread
to the very next step
the next breath
the next being

i cannot look any further than this
and this is that..
this is bcause that is ~
that is because this is...
it has always been thus...
this, that, thus..
here, there, everywhere ...

we who lived in the concentration camps
can remember those who walked through
the huts comforting others, 
giving away their last piece of bread.. 
they may have been few in number 
but they offer sufficient proof 
that everything can be taken from us 
but the last of human freedoms...
the freedom to choose our spirit 
in any circumstance.
                          - victor e. frankl

gandhi called this soul force ~
                 
if only it were that simple!
if only there were evil people somewhere else
insidiously committing evil deeds,
and it were simply necessary to separate them
from the rest of us and destroy them.
but the line dividing good and evil
cuts through the heart of every human being.
and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
                  ~ solzhenitsyn

if we could read the secret history 
of our enemies,
we should see sorrow and suffering
enough to disarm all hostility.
                    - longfellow

if you want to see the heroic, 
look at those who can love in return for hatred.
if you want to see the brave,
look for those who can forgive.
                   ~ the gita

have you seen the red signs everywhere
anouncing the gun show in oak harbor
this week-end?
my initial reaction was to follow their trail,
pick them up and dump them...
yet how poignant .. how heart-rending
in the wake of the gunshots and deaths..
their message - so bold....so out of touch..

the first step to the knowledge
of the wonder and mystery of life 
is the recognition of the monstrous nature 
of the earthly human realm as well as its glory,
the realization that this is just how it is
and that it cannot and will not be changed.
those who think they know - and their name is legion -
how the universe could have been had they created it,
without pain,
without sorrow,
without time,
without death,
are unfit for illumination.
so if you really want to help this world,
what you will have to teach is how to live in it.
and that no one can do who has not themselves
learned how to live in the joyful sorrow
and sorrowful joy of the knowledge of life as it is.
                   ~ joseph campbell

as i write this i hear Raven claiming the sky,
Mandy ~ blind, aged, barking a heartache,
Hummingbird burring to the nectar..
my early morning candles flickering
and me.. remembering MLK Jr's words..
we can walk through the darkest night
with the radiant conviction
that all things work together
for the good.

love will have the last word ~ here