remembrance of Being
in the midst of experience
is the practice of
Presence

In the wonderland 
of summer garden beauty
butterfly magic

see
yourself
in others 
sense the tender voice 
of loving kindness
whispering
below the noise
this kindness
changes everything

Blessings of Summer Solstice

what is it 
to extend a living hand
Into this
beautiful
difficult world?
what is it
to bring
spacious kindness
to the every day
challenging
ephemeral
poignancy 
of embodied life?
what is it 
to be cloud
and mountain
to be presence
and emptiness
in the same moment
without separation?
 

I sent this story out a few years back. Today I feel moved to share it again.

According to ancient Jewish mystical legend the world will continue to exist as long as there are a minimum of thirty-six people who recognize the Divine Presence (Shekinah) in all things, and respond unconditionally with compassion to the suffering of others. They are called Lamed Vavs because the numerology for the Hebrew letters Lamed and Vav equals 36. 

These Lamed Vavs are wellsprings of lovingkindness, pouring the light of goodness and compassion upon the world. It is said that if at any time there are fewer than thirty-six such people, the world would implode under the weight of human greed, ignorance, selfishness, and anger.

The intriguing twist is they are unknown. They are called "hidden saints"—hidden to themselves and to others. Some say they need not be the same thirty-six people at all times. You, me, any one of us, at any moment, might be one of these thirty-six upon whom the world depends. And so it inspires us to act as though we are.

in the heart
of every moment
however veiled
or clouded
a boundless goodness
an infinite love
a fathomless
inseparability 

compassion rising
amidst an ocean of sorrow
and unbearable beauty—
a broken open 
 hallelujah

the pathless path leads
without going anywhere
to the intimacy of our own being