AMEN! Lack of empathy is the biggest problem humanity has in these dark days. I love your pictures and poem. I love that you have both the Jewish and Palestinian people mourning their losses. You are very empathetic. <3
Thanks for this Peter. It is only by seeing a mirror of our own pain in others, including our "enemies," that we can find any hope for a peaceful future. Too often, I see my own people, through their actions, deny the humanity of "others," just as we see others deny our humanity. This is a recipe for nothing but despair--if not today, when we triumph, then tomorrow when we are caught unaware as we dance or sleep. Dealing fairly with "others," with empathy and mutual (but non-lethal) sacrifice, is the only way to a lasting peace.
Yes, agreed Jeff. And consider this: you lock your doors at night and sleep soundly because you trust that if someone were to come to harm you or your family (God forbid), the police responding to your 911 call wouldn’t arrive armed only with good will. They would come prepared to use force, even deadly force if necessary. You would want them to be prepared in that way.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. And I believe that reality is worth acknowledging, even as we continue to aspire to something higher.
The aspiration you’ve expressed so beautifully here is the same one I was reaching for in my poem. Like you, I was writing about real peace—not just the absence of violence, but an ultimate state of being. It’s something I pray for, and something I believe we will one day experience.
Amen, Peter! May we be graced to accept our oneness. However strongly we choose to think of ourselves as distinct, separate bodies, our reality remains unaltered— we are, I believe, no more separate from each other than a wave is from its ocean.
Beautiful piece, thank you Peter for so eloquently articulating how so many of us feel. Limitations? Yes, they certainly exist, mostly the ones we place on ourselves. The freedoms we have are truly a privilege, hard fought by those before us, which afford us our rights to live the creative, imaginative lives we’re gifted with. What a gift it is.💫
"an awareness.... of the limitations built into the human experience." How true. Accepting this really changes one's outlook and priorities. God Help Us All to always remember this and "lean not on our own understanding."
It struck a chord to read your reaction to "God Help Us All"
and it dawned on me that bridges I built to people I disenfranchised may not have worked because I hadn't made the vital effort to walk over the bridge to their space, to look through their lens. Mine was an effort with limitations, not sacrifice. I thought my giving them a road to me was enough, but that's not how we humans reconcile. Vulnerability can invite same, and one has to keep their spirit strength high to be humble and ready for the opportunity.
Start small. In the earth. Cultivate plants and embrace the rhythms of the seasons and the animals that live with those plants. Empathy with the land - not mindless environmentalism but true resonance, builds empathy. We will return to this earth, by honoring its essential nature we honor our own. We build and plant and grow on bones and soil. Trying to reach a sense of that cycle and accept it puts our striving and our passions in context. Bright stars are we, flaming across the sky, living our fullest lives and eager times. Ah to be human is to be blest with a thinking mind and a compassionate soul.
I turned 75 yesterday and in my entire life I have to say this is one of the few times I am truly worried about the state of mankind. Our fate feels like it is slipping beyond our control. That evil Id I've sometimes imagined that is out there is slowly raising it self above our heads.
AMEN! Lack of empathy is the biggest problem humanity has in these dark days. I love your pictures and poem. I love that you have both the Jewish and Palestinian people mourning their losses. You are very empathetic. <3
Thanks for this Peter. It is only by seeing a mirror of our own pain in others, including our "enemies," that we can find any hope for a peaceful future. Too often, I see my own people, through their actions, deny the humanity of "others," just as we see others deny our humanity. This is a recipe for nothing but despair--if not today, when we triumph, then tomorrow when we are caught unaware as we dance or sleep. Dealing fairly with "others," with empathy and mutual (but non-lethal) sacrifice, is the only way to a lasting peace.
Yes, agreed Jeff. And consider this: you lock your doors at night and sleep soundly because you trust that if someone were to come to harm you or your family (God forbid), the police responding to your 911 call wouldn’t arrive armed only with good will. They would come prepared to use force, even deadly force if necessary. You would want them to be prepared in that way.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. And I believe that reality is worth acknowledging, even as we continue to aspire to something higher.
The aspiration you’ve expressed so beautifully here is the same one I was reaching for in my poem. Like you, I was writing about real peace—not just the absence of violence, but an ultimate state of being. It’s something I pray for, and something I believe we will one day experience.
Amen, Peter! May we be graced to accept our oneness. However strongly we choose to think of ourselves as distinct, separate bodies, our reality remains unaltered— we are, I believe, no more separate from each other than a wave is from its ocean.
Beautiful piece, thank you Peter for so eloquently articulating how so many of us feel. Limitations? Yes, they certainly exist, mostly the ones we place on ourselves. The freedoms we have are truly a privilege, hard fought by those before us, which afford us our rights to live the creative, imaginative lives we’re gifted with. What a gift it is.💫
"an awareness.... of the limitations built into the human experience." How true. Accepting this really changes one's outlook and priorities. God Help Us All to always remember this and "lean not on our own understanding."
It struck a chord to read your reaction to "God Help Us All"
and it dawned on me that bridges I built to people I disenfranchised may not have worked because I hadn't made the vital effort to walk over the bridge to their space, to look through their lens. Mine was an effort with limitations, not sacrifice. I thought my giving them a road to me was enough, but that's not how we humans reconcile. Vulnerability can invite same, and one has to keep their spirit strength high to be humble and ready for the opportunity.
Those words in this POEM paint the real canvas of life. Thank you, Peter for the wonderful underlying melody in ALL of your words.
Start small. In the earth. Cultivate plants and embrace the rhythms of the seasons and the animals that live with those plants. Empathy with the land - not mindless environmentalism but true resonance, builds empathy. We will return to this earth, by honoring its essential nature we honor our own. We build and plant and grow on bones and soil. Trying to reach a sense of that cycle and accept it puts our striving and our passions in context. Bright stars are we, flaming across the sky, living our fullest lives and eager times. Ah to be human is to be blest with a thinking mind and a compassionate soul.
I turned 75 yesterday and in my entire life I have to say this is one of the few times I am truly worried about the state of mankind. Our fate feels like it is slipping beyond our control. That evil Id I've sometimes imagined that is out there is slowly raising it self above our heads.
Beautiful!
truth