I awoke early this morning with an old song going through my head. Written in the mid-sixties by Stephen Stills, you may remember the one called "For What it's Worth." It's a great song. Please take a couple of minutes to listen and read the lyrics.
Fortunately, the young adults of today are still trying to understand and make since of the dualities of life. And when their voices are heard, they help to make change.
Today I am writing this post to honor all the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting -- the ones who lost their lives as well as the ones who were wounded physically and mentally. I am bowing to all the young people of Florida who are speaking their minds and sending out a ripple of awareness all over the country saying we are fed up and something isn't right with this gun situation. I am bowing to all of them around the country for being brave. I say right now, "Power to the young people!" for wanting change.
I am reminded of the book Shambala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior written by Chogyam Trungpa, another Tibetan Buddhist teacher. Looking at the duality that is relative in our everyday life (for example ... night/day, love/hate, cold/hot, guns/no guns) he tells us that we need to be fearful, tender of heart, or sad to enable one to "open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world." The fear transforms into fearlessness.
In watching and listening to the high schoolers that are facing the world and speaking out, it looks like their fear transformed them into fearless "spiritual warriors." Chogyam Trungpa says:
“Warrior-ship here does not refer to making war on others.
Aggression is the source of our problems, not the solution. Here the
word “warrior” is taken from the Tibetan “pawo,” which literally means,
“one who is brave.” ... "And now here is my secret, a very simple
secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is
essential is invisible to the eye."
I am glad that these activists are out there carrying signs, going to D.C., speaking to political officials -- letting it be known that things are not acceptable. We need this and I believe we should do all we can to empower this mission of calling for change.
Some think that simple prayers, thoughts and meditations may not help in the big picture. But that is not true when you have a inkling of the cosmic energy that runs throughout the whole universe -- through all of us including our actions, thoughts and words. If you are of the right mind and practice with compassion, it can help to raise the consciousness of all.
I go along with the thoughts of the Dalai Lama that world peace starts within. And Gandhi's words: Be the change you want to see. And then there is Thich Nhat Hanh suggesting that each step must be peaceful in obtaining peace. These three spiritual leaders are known to be activists for peace, equal rights and freedom.
So I tell myself: Don't talk about it. Be about it!
Our hearts have been wounded again and we are open and vulnerable. Is it time to recognize yourself as a spiritual warrior? I am looking toward more active efforts leading to higher consciousness for all and raising the vibe of the planet. Meanwhile, I will continue to be the best person I can be and do Tonglen meditation as I have talked about in the preceding post -- the meditation is something I can always do.
At this time, I'm making a request to all of you concerned ones and spiritual warriors to keep your peaceful ways going and to continue seeking change through rational and compassionate actions in service of a higher goal.
Thank you to all the fearless ones
for being here on the pathway to awareness!
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