Brother David Steindl-Rast 565 words, 47K views, 11 comments
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On Aug 26, 2017Jagdish P Dave wrote :
" Love in every one of its forms is a lived "yes" to belonging. I call it a "lived yes", because the very way loving people live and act says loudly and clearly, " Yes, I affirm and respect you and I wish you well. As members of the cosmic family we belong together, and this belonging goes far deeper than anything that can ever divide us." These words written by Brother David Steindal-Rast resonate deeply with me.
All of us want and yearn to be deeply connected with each other. Life begins with connectedness and grows like a plant by remaining connected with supporting and nourishing elements. In this process we do not learn to hate. As we grow we acquire beliefs that create two groups, in-group and out-group, we and they, us and them- friends and enemies. These groups are the byproducts of human conditioning. However, there is the "being" part in the human being.This is composed of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, gratitude and love. All wisdom traditions teach us, urge us, inspire us to keep the heart and soul open to relate to each other as loving neighbors, as brothers and sisters in spite of our differences.
There have been living examples of people all our the world who have risen above the the divisive ways of thinking and behaving and there lies the hope for us as human beings to survive and thrive.
Everyday I run into people whom I know who respect and affirm racial, ethnic religious and political differences without punching each other and hating each other. And I also run into people who hold strong prejudice and hatred for people who are different from them.
May we keep our mind and heart open to cultivate connectedness within ourselves and with others in our life!
On Aug 26, 2017 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
" Love in every one of its forms is a lived "yes" to belonging. I call it a "lived yes", because the very way loving people live and act says loudly and clearly, " Yes, I affirm and respect you and I wish you well. As members of the cosmic family we belong together, and this belonging goes far deeper than anything that can ever divide us." These words written by Brother David Steindal-Rast resonate deeply with me.
All of us want and yearn to be deeply connected with each other. Life begins with connectedness and grows like a plant by remaining connected with supporting and nourishing elements. In this process we do not learn to hate. As we grow we acquire beliefs that create two groups, in-group and out-group, we and they, us and them- friends and enemies. These groups are the byproducts of human conditioning. However, there is the "being" part in the human being.This is composed of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, gratitude and love. All wisdom traditions teach us, urge us, inspire us to keep the heart and soul open to relate to each other as loving neighbors, as brothers and sisters in spite of our differences.
There have been living examples of people all our the world who have risen above the the divisive ways of thinking and behaving and there lies the hope for us as human beings to survive and thrive.
Everyday I run into people whom I know who respect and affirm racial, ethnic religious and political differences without punching each other and hating each other. And I also run into people who hold strong prejudice and hatred for people who are different from them.
May we keep our mind and heart open to cultivate connectedness within ourselves and with others in our life!
Namaste.
Jagdish P Dave