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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Saturday, December 3, 2016

Right and Wrong

Feeling right can feel good; we can be completely sure of how right we are and have a lot of people agreeing with us about how right we are.  But suppose someone does not agree with us?  Then what happens?  Do we find ourselves getting angry and aggressive?  This is what wars are made of… feeling that we have to be right…
                                                                                                     Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart  p. 83
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I am right
You are wrong

If I can be right
And I can make you wrong
Then I can place my feet on the ground and stand

Certain and strong

But if I know that it is not that simple
And try to hang out in that space of uncertainty

I might be right
But I might be wrong

Then I have no to stand
That is damn uncomfortable

But that uncertainty is a gift
Which allows my heart and mind to stay open

It allows me to find the room to listen
And seek to understand
It makes it so that I do not have to attack and blame

It creates the possibility for compassionate communication
And kind and loving action

Over this last year I have too often
Sought the security of being right

And it has made me, from time to time
More times than I care to admit
Closed
Aggressive
Unkind

I am seeking
And this is a tough time to do it
But I am seeking to find
That soft spot in my soul

Which does not have to be right
Which does not blame
(either myself or others)
And which is the starting place
For kindness

I need to be kind to myself
On not hang on so tightly to the need to be right
I need to be kind to others
And realize that I do not need to make them wrong
To protect myself

I need to let my pain touch my heart
I need to let their pain touch my heart
Unjudged

And let it turn into compassion


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