The Columbia City Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation class met this morning. We reflected on the heart breaking times we are living through. In our advocacy for social justice we can appeal to the light in others. When our own light falters may we seek out the lights of friends, gardeners, potters, politicians, marchers and faith leaders. May we remember the many caring hands that continue to shape the world in healing and loving ways.
We drew inspiration from the many hands that brought the Portland Japanese Garden into being. You can check the cherry blossom status with their 2025 Cherry Blossom Tracker. Learn more about it through Celebrate the Garden’s History.
We heard Czech poet Miroslav Holub’s poem Wings. American poet Jane Hirshfield cited the poem in her recent essay Two “Minor Planets”: A Post for Stand Up for Science Day.
We heard Bishop William Barber’s reflections on the 60th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama. You can hear about last week’s gathering in which hundreds of faith leaders gathered to protest the proposed Medicaid cuts affecting millions of people. You can hear more about the findings of a new report Wednesday called “The High Moral Stake: Our Budget, Our Future,”In Friday’s interview with Democracy Now.
James Baldwin’s book, Nothing Personal, inspired us with the invitation to know the “inner light within oneself.” Cultural curator, essayist and poet Maria Popova followed his words with her own encouragement to magnify each other’s light in times of darkness.
We heard Thich Nhat Hanh’s answer to the question: How to Fight Justice Without Being Consumed by Anger?