The Power of Unity

I love the following story. If we followed this example there would be much healing in the world. The best part is we don't have to wait. We can start today. I think even recent news guides us that one just never knows what pain is held inside someone.

There is an old story of a farmer who was proud of the fruits produced in his orchard. There was one diseased tree that never produced  anything of value but merely took up space in the orchard. He tried everything, but couldn't get rid of that tree. He tried cutting it down, but it would grow again from a shoot. He tried poisoning it, but it never quite died. Then one day, following someone's advice, he planted many healthy trees around it. They were vigorous and healthy trees that suited the environment well. Soon it was difficult to see where that diseased tree was amongst them. Gradually those beneficial healthy trees took over the entire space and when the farmer looked for his old adversary, that diseased tree couldn't be found; it had become healthy and on its branches were growing crops of beautiful fruits.  

(B.K.S. Iyengar, from Core of the Yoga Sutras)

The Gold

KPJAYI - Mysore, India 

“You are perfect, whole and complete right this very instant. You are the whole itself, Being itself, watching a show in which you are the entire canvas, you are the entire cast - you are literally looking at your Self in everything. 

We are seeking something that is already present, already the case. It’s as if we held a diamond in our hand while we dig for pennies. Gold itself, taking itself as a mere chain, seeks to find out the truth of this elusive essence called Gold. By what means can Gold find Gold? It can only BE what it already IS - there is no reaching itself through any method. 

There is an expression - you can’t see the forest for the trees. You’re focused on each tree and missing the forest, which is already the case. Each tree IS forest, in expression. Each tree is a manifestation of forest - the collection of trees we call “forest”. Each thing IS the whole in expression - but we’ve given each “thing” an independence of existence. We say it came into existence - we think of “things” this way - this very concept is the obstacle - this way of thinking of reality. 

(Randall Friend)

Friday Quote: Pema Chödrön

Mysore, India

“There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she just takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.” 

(Pema Chödrön, The Wisdom of No Escape)

Love Liberates