Let love come to you

The buddhists tell us "attachment is the root of all suffering."

When I did research over the last few years, I found over and over again that suffering was a deficit of love.

How can these both be true? Are they as at odds as they seem?

In fact, when we step back a bit, we can see that the two are sides of a coin, united.

When we are experinecing suffering, we are indeed experiencing a love deficit. And our suffering may in large part be due to how attached we are to our love needs. 

Wait, that sounds weird, right?

It is kind of, yes.

When we are placing expectations on our love relationships, we are chaining them down, stuffing them in a small box, and making our relationships transactional by expecting them to deliver specific behaviors or things in specific ways. This is unfair, and it limits the amount of love we can receive. In effect, our expectations are creating the very love deficeit that is creating our suffering.

Lighten up.

Loosen up.

Let love come to you as it will.

This is the Way.

There it is

It’s been a very long winter, and even though it isn’t over quite yet, the path through has begun to emerge. I’m grateful for the lessons along the way, for the coming season, and for the path in front of me. Welcome to February. It’s not Spring, but I can see it from here.

The Way will open.

The Way is Love

Aiki is not a technique to fight with... it is the way to reconcile the world, and make human beings one family. Winning means winning over the mind of discord in yourself. It is to accomplish your bestowed mission. Holmes addendum: and to discover your bestowed mission. Love is the guardian deity of everything. Nothing can exist without it. Aikido is the realisation of love. The way," stopping reading, and explaining, "Do is Japanese for a way. Ai means love, harmony, and ki is the vital spirit. Aikido can mean, the way of martial spiritual harmony, okay?"

"Okay," says Joe. "... The way means to be one with the will of deity, and practise it. How can you straighten your warped mind, purify your head and be at harmony with the activities of all things in the universe You should first make God's heart yours. There is no discord in love. There is no enemy in love." ----Keri Hulme The Bone People, 200

Now is the time to stand up for what matters

“As long as a society holds regular and frequent assemblies, meeting in harmony
and mutual respect, can they be expected to prosper and not decline.
As long as a society follows the long held traditions of wisdom, and honors its elders,
can they be expected to prosper and not decline.
As long as a society protects the wives and daughters and vulnerable among them,
can they be expected to prosper and not decline.
As long as a society cares for the shrines and sacred places of the natural world,
can they be expected to prosper and not decline.”

—Mahaparinirvana Sutta (a text of Buddha’s last teachings)

The Middle Way

To pursue the Middle Way is not a compromise. It is to bravely confront life’s challenges — identify root causes and seek means of resolution — while summoning the transformative strength and wisdom from within one’s life to create harmony. The Middle Way does not equate to society’s definition of what may be accepted or considered 'normal' at any given time. Rather, it transcends subjective values and accords with something more fundamental — our humanity. At the social and political level, the Middle Way could be expressed as the commitment to upholding respect for the dignity of life and placing it before adherence to a particular political or economic ideology. (From the Soka Gakkai International website)