Human Machinations

[humanbn]

THE HOUSE OF BELONGING

I awoke this morning in the gold light turning this way and that

thinking for a moment it was one day like any other.

But the veil had gone from my darkened heart and I thought

it must have been the quiet candlelight that filled my room,

it must have been the first easy rhythm with which I breathed myself to sleep,

it must have been the prayer I said speaking to the otherness of the night.

And I thought this is the good day you could meet your love,

this is the black day someone close to you could die.

This is the day you realize how easily the thread is broken between this world and the next

and I found myself sitting up in the quiet pathway of light,

the tawny close-grained cedar burning round me like fire and all the angels of this housely heaven ascending through the first roof of light the sun has made.

This is the bright home in which I live, this is where I ask my friends to come, this is where I want to love all the things it has taken me so long to learn to love.

This is the temple of my adult aloneness and I belong to that aloneness as I belong to my life.

There is no house like the house of belonging.

- David Whyte ©1996

[humanbn]

[thewightknight]

Bush full of Kittens

[racingthimbles]

@softshadowmoon

[tygermama]

Does this grow in my zone?

[theotherwesley]

this plant is very aggressive

[humanbn]

“Critical thinking without hope is cynicism. Hope without critical thinking is naïveté.”

[humanbn]

On Beginning at the Beginning

Judy Lief explains how acknowledging our own fear of illness and death helps us comfort those who are dying.

[humanbn]

[humanbn]

If you are tired, keep going. If you are scared, keep going. If you are hungry, keep going. If you want to taste freedom, keep going.

Harriet Tubman

[mediamattersforamerica]

WOW. Watch these 3 minutes from Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen talking about what Trump doesn’t understand about the national anthem and the right to protest. Compare this to any right-wing media whining and that’s why this is one to remember.

[texnessa]

Dale Hansen is a fucking treasure.  He admitted he was a childhood victim of sexual abuse in the hopes that it would encourage others to come forward and seek help. He has been an ardent supporter of scholar-athletes and of gay players in the NFL and of trans athletes.

“I’m not always comfortable when a man tells me he is gay; I don’t understand his world. But I do understand that he is part of mine.”

[humanbn]

Allegiance to Life

Staying steady through the mess we’re in: An interview with Joanna Macy

I don’t have all the answers, but together, we can find them out in conversation. Once you try to impose your view on another person, they will only say yes if they’re scared of you, or bored with you, and want you to go away. That is just one example, and is one that the Buddha himself was very strong in articulating to his disciples. He said, “Watch out for thinking that there is a correct dogma.” There isn’t. Instead, we have to find a way to live in mutual respect in a field of uncertainty. We must relieve ourselves of having to have the answer. We can do this by linking arms with each other.

[humanbn]

[purplebuddhaproject]

[humanbn]

How Science Is Unlocking the Secrets of Addiction

We're learning more about the craving that fuels self-defeating habits—and how new discoveries can help us kick the habit.

Addiction is a disease, not a moral failing.

[humanbn]

Chani Nicholas

[humanbn]

A Very Detailed, Interactive Map of Chicago’s Tree Canopy

It reveals some startling patterns.

“When we go to talk to communities,” says Lydia Scott, director of the CRTI, “We say ‘trees reduce crime.’ And then they go, ‘Explain to me how that could possibly be, because that’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard.’”

[humanbn]

[maritsa-met-deactivated20210227]

“Waters spoke next to the enlarged photo as she commemorated the 27th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act a day earlier.

“It is a day to reflect on how people with disabilities are treated in our society,” Waters began.“

[abigfatmess]

Maxine. Water. Is. Not. Here. To. Fucking. Play.

[humanbn]

Consider Yourself a Tourist

Within less than fifty years, I, Tenzin Gyatso, the Buddhist monk, will be no more than a memory. Indeed, it is doubtful whether a single person reading these words will be alive a century from now. Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can …

I appeal to you the reader to ensure that you make the rest of your life as meaningful as possible. Do this by engaging in spiritual practice if you can. As I hope I have made clear, there is nothing mysterious about this. It consists in nothing more than acting out of concern for others. And provided you undertake this practice sincerely and with persistence, little by little, step by step you will gradually be able to reorder youur habits and attitudes so that you think less about your own narrow concerns and more of others’.