A Writing for a Time of Assauilt on Our Living Together
Jun 12, 2025
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Sly Stone passed away this past weekend. This musical selection is selected to honor him and for it speaks a message we need now and always. But now we, in the United States where I live, are seeing a large-scale assault on our living together in peace; this divisive policy has extended to relations with peaceful allies. Keep living from the heart regardless of those who aim to divide to conquer. Hate is their weapon; love is our power. Recall the wisdom found in the Christian Scriptures and echoed in all great wisdom paths: "Do not be overcome by evil; overcome evil with good." We can all live together, for we belong to each other. Those who deny this deny it to their own harm. The living of it blesses those who live it. Again, from the Christian Bible and words attributed to Jesus: "How wonderfully blessed! the peacemakers."
I asked the elderly, retired man about when he received inner guidance to become a Christian clergyperson some four decades prior. He said he made a deal with a friend, and his part was to attend a church meeting with his friend at the meeting house the friend attended regularly. He had not been religious or attending any religious or spiritual group.
The retired clergyperson said, "I walked inside the doors of the church with him. I did not know anyone there, had never seen a one; yet, I loved them all." He told me this with a big smile and arms lifted into the air, celebrating that moment of truth.
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The clergyperson's naturally arising love was not of the ego. The 'i' cannot love like that. That little 'i' is only part of the 'I.' And 'I' can love that way; it is not selective, and it does not need time to love anyone deeply, anywhere.
So, when this love arises, you may experience a love that others would say is impossible in the time you knew the person. Why? This love is not arising from you as a person toward another as a person. Person is included, but person is not the fount.
Recently, I witnessed a love arise for someone I had not known for long and had never met in person. And one day, it arose with the unspoken but deeply felt, "I love you." Yet, I noticed the "I love" was not Brian, but Brian was included in it. Brian was not the origin of the love; he was a welcomed participant in the love the Host was sharing. Who is this Host? That of Love within us.
This intense love was felt for many days, repeatedly arising unexpectedly, then it ceased arising like a love wave returning to the Love Sea to rest there. Where is it now? It has gone nowhere. Will it come to shore again? Possibly. I do not know. I do not decide that. Yet, I can be the kind of being who is available for it to come to shore again. You can, too.
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What do you do when you appear unable to love someone or some people? Try to love them? Feel guilty about it? No. Step aside, for there is that of you that can love anyone, anywhere. Get out of its way. Yield to it.
This love does not mean you need to like everyone. You may feel a dislike for someone or a whole group of people, wish to never associate with them, yet still love them. Coming up on the stories about Jesus, I never read of him trying to be buddies with the religious and political extremists, for example. He appears as one who has no desire to be their friend. The way he chooses to live is exclusive of them by the way they choose to live, not by his choice to exclude them.
When you reach your capacity to love, welcome that. Receive it as an invitation to yield into that of you capable of loving anyone, anywhere. And you can accept that it is alright to exclude from your life or limit contact with whomever you decide. There is nothing wrong with literally walking away or drawing the metaphorical line and saying, "I've had enough. Bye. Wish you well."
See, love is not always charming, sweet, or tender. Love is not always tolerant. You cannot live in peace with everyone, for not everyone wishes to live at peace with you. Still, you can live in peace, not surrendering your peace to anyone. Each day, choose to live at peace with Life and yourself. Never surrender that peace to anyone. If you do, you are human, and you can reclaim the peace. To live in peace is to live in love, to live in love is to live in peace, even when you feel your heart aching in sorrow for this world. We can discover how our heart-of-hearts has an amazing capacity to hold in harmony deep peace and profound sorrow at the same time.
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So, I encourage us, in these times, to yield to that of Love in us. Keep doing that daily, nightly. Wisely care for your well-being: body, mind, spirit. I never advise anyone to go jump in the sewer. Do we know what the sewer is? Yes, we do. I do not need to provide any details on it; watch the news, but not too much, and it will show you what Buddhists refer to as the Wheel of Samsara and the spiritual meaning of what Christianity calls hell. Stay out of the sewer! We need, to be compassionate beings, some awareness of what is happening in the sewer, but we do not need to jump in. And some of what is happening we do not need to know, especially as so much news is excessive and sensationalized for ratings and money. How can we rightly be a blessing to others while walking around sticking with that crap? Rather, live in the Light; bear and share the scent of the Beloved.
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Feelings of love come and go. That of Love in us always loves, regardless. And it can love near to or far away. It can love without our giving one thought to doing the loving. Simply yield to that of Love in us, however you do that and whatever you call it. That simple. If you pray, meditate, chant, or wish to love, consent to love. Consent arises from that in you that is that of Love. Love is so much more than a performance; it is the Way of the Heart.
