LOVE DOES THAT
by Meister Eckhart
All day long a little burro labors, sometimes
with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries
about things that bother only
burros.
And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting
than physical labor.
Once in a while a kind monk comes
to her stable and brings
a pear, but more
than that,
he looks into the burro’s eyes and touches her ears
and for a few seconds the burro is free
and even seems to laugh, because love does
that.
Love frees.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgjHM8ngWrM]
Late Fragment
by Raymond Carver
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
St. Francis and the Sow
by Galway Kinnell
Rachel Naomi Remen, writer and professor of integrative medicine, tells of the blessing her grandfather, a rabbi, had for her. He always called her Neshume-le, which means “little beloved soul.” When her mother was very old, Rachel told her mother about her grandfather’s blessings. And her mother looked at her with great sadness and said, “You know Rachel, I’ve prayed for you every day of my life, but I never had the wisdom to do it out loud.”
The practice of lovingkindness is a way to live these blessings out loud, even if out loud is only a whisper to one’s self, to one’s soul. It is a way to live our love for our family and friends, for our benefactors, for people we know and don’t know, even people we dislike, for every person and every being with whom we share this earth. And it is a way to bestow that blessing on ourselves, to recognize the deep worth of our own wondrous souls. No one has ever laid on their death bed and thought: I wish I had beat myself up more often.
Today’s meditation in class was based on this lovely script by Jack Kornfield. You can access more guided meditations here, or simply click on the “Meditations” tab in the top menu.
I am larger than I thought! I did not know I held so much goodness!
—Walt Whitman
Begin the practice of lovingkindness simply. Sit so that you feel comfortable. Let your body rest and your heart be soft.
It is best to begin by directing lovingkindness to those you love, because often people can find it difficult to direct love to themselves. Picture, imagine, think of someone you love a lot, where love comes easily and is uncomplicated. Start where it’s easy to first open the heart. You can even begin with a child or a dog.
Breathe gently and recite inwardly the following traditional phrases directed toward their well-being. Continue reading