Good morning! Welcome to the DKos Sangha weekly open thread.
This is an open thread for members of the DKos Sangha and others who are interested in discussions concerning how we integrate our progressive political activism into our spiritual practice. If you have observations about the political discourse of the week, or about practice, or about anything else related to walking a spiritual path through the political world, if you wish to share, or if you seek support, or if you simply want to say hello, please do; this space is for you.
If you would like to host a weekly open thread, please let me know.
If you care nothing for spiritual practice and only wish to denigrate and disparage, please do so elsewhere, and respect that this is a community diary for the DKos Sangha.
In his remarks Friday night, the President mentioned that it had been "a tough week". The pictures from Boston on Monday were heartbreaking, the ricin letters were disturbing; then they caught the ricin guy. The explosion in West, Texas was horrific; then the FBI released pictures of suspects in Boston. Then there was the late Thursday night shootout and news that one suspect had been killed; and then the lockdown of the metropolitan area and the house to house search in Watertown. Then there was the disappointment that the remaining suspect had not been found, followed by sudden news that he had been located. And then the long wait, and the hope that he would give up peacefully, followed by the news of his capture.
Some followed events closely, some chose not to. One is not necessarily better than the other; how we react to these type of events depends on how events are unfolding in our own lives.
For some that chose to follow some or all of these events closely there was of course a feeling of sadness felt deep in the heart, and an empathy and outpouring of love toward the victims and their families. And for some, this sudden opening of the heart stirred up some things that we had been holding in our own lives, some long buried and covered over, some recent and not yet fully examined. And in the light of this compassion for others that was filling the space of our moment to moment lives, we were also able to touch these things that were arising in our own lives with understanding and kindness. As we felt such an outpouring of love for sisters and brothers we had never met who were experiencing so much suffering, we were recognizing our own common humanity, and in doing so were able to open to ourselves, to our own experience, a little more deeply.
Again, this was of course not everyone's experience of the week, just some. But it points out, I think, the interconnectedness we experience when our heart opens; and at the same time, how unresolved karma held within us can arise during such sudden traumatic events, and be touched with the same love we extend to others.
I hope this Sunday finds you well, happy, and at peace.