The World in Our Heart
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten
Dear Dharma friends,
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The best science hasn’t found any other place where life can be supported in the entire galaxy beside earth. This planet is our home and our mother. It is full of wonders in each moment. All that is required to experience them is to let go of our thoughts for a moment, breathe deeply, and then look, listen, and feel. How lucky we are to be born into this beautiful world. As creative beings, humanity has also made this world even more beautiful with amazing creations like music, art, poetry, and dance.
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There is the potential for this world to be quite a beautiful paradise if everyone could come together, work for the common good, respect each other, and care for our fellow humans rather than fight with each other. However, this is not how the world has been evolving. With all the countless good things, there are still many problems in this human world, both at the individual and collective level. It can sometimes be too much to open our hearts to the troubles of the world, or it can feel like life in general is hard to live. As a remedy, our ego wants to close our hearts in defense with denial, distraction, or even cynicism.
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It feels that our ability to be conscientious of what is happening in the larger world has been expanding due to our access to information about events from everywhere and a feeling that all of humanity is in the same boat. Sometimes, this can dishearten us or make us feel despondent. It can also cause us to be cynical and pessimistic, which in turn can bring about a loss of faith in humanity and we can even become apathetic.
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During this Sojong, let’s invoke our inherent goodness, hold the world in our wide, open hearts, and bear witness to its sorrow through the eye of compassion. Let’s send our prayers and goodwill where needed anywhere in the world. There is always something we can give the world, that is our love.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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