March Fourth Pilgrimage Re-Dedication

it seems so perfectly fitting on this day of marching forth on March 4th, in this moment of confusion and chaos falling on the thirty-fifth day of a season of peace to journey to the garden of zen and breathe in this mountain, surrendering all distractions and clearing the path to come home to our one heart, our true refuge in the midst of madness… thousand fold thanks for this path of devotion, thousand fold thanks for the courage and encouragement to be wholeheartedly here, thousand fold thanks for lighting the way…thousand fold thanks for your overflowing grace today…

many of us marching forth in these uncertain times despair not for we are unwavering, resolute knowing we are made for these times, these chaos cycles which call out the best in us…

“The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth

is not that we are on the way to destroying the world –

we’ve actually been on the way for quite awhile.

It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep,

to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves

and each other.”

~Joanna Macy~

listen, take courage as Howard Zinn elucidates the right way of being in these turbulent times…

“An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places- and there are so many- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

now, take peace with the words of Desmond Tutu…

“You and I are made for goodness. You and I are creatures who were made for transcendence, were made for love, were made for caring, were made for embracing one another… And that is what is going to prevail.”

yes! we can…