In One Moment

Each morning my news feed
brings images, pain, concern,
feelings of helplessness
in the face of atrocities.

Each day the calls for support,
humanitarian aid, food, medical care,
navigate me toward the depths of humanity—
that which links us all.

Each morning I sit in quiet,
moving in, anchoring in, seeking
the calm still point, believing in the 
sacred seed, within each living thing.

Each day I wonder as you are called out—
crazy, animal, sick. Are you? As you live out evil?
Have you deeply layered the sacred 
with doubt, fear, paranoia, anger, deceit?

Each morning I wake to the
unknown moment, what will be next?
For now, ignoring the news of you,
I watch the yellow finch, sip tea, sit in my sacred space.

Each day I move through
what is before me, aware
that chaos is at the other side of my still point.
So, I won’t dismiss you.

Each morning I remember the
child who was taught to hide 
from the unthinkable.
But I won’t give you that power.

Each day the unthinkable looms
once again, and I remember, 
remember, and remember — the source,
the beauty, and the bounty of this life.

Each moment,
I won’t alter my belief.
You, even you, hold a seed of life, of love.
Will you find it?

Each moment you, believing in the worst,
forgetting the best,
holding to the shame within you,
forgetting the pure, the holy, the whole.

In one moment, one day, one morning,
will you drop to your knees?
will you plead for mercy?
I do feel doubt, yet…

I don’t know the closing,
the last moment,
the final breath, 
of your one iniquitous life.

“Sacrificing others is always the result when getting and holding are valued more than individual lives.”

Eknath Easwaran in Conquest of Mind

“There is enough on earth for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.

Mahatma Gandhi

“May all creatures be happy. May people everywhere live in abiding peace and love.” For all of us are one, and joy can be found only in the joy of all.

A prayer from ancient Hindu scriptures with addition by Easwaran

Ongoing Resource List

• The Soul of Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks
• Keep Going by Joseph M. Marshall III
• Arriving at your own Door by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
• The Hidden Secrets of Water by Paolo Consigli
• Conquest of Mind by Eknath Easwaran
• Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
• Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
• I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) by Brene Brown
• Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron
• When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
• On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
• Unattended Sorrow by Stephen Levine
• Joy in Loving, Mother Theresa
• The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
• Let Your LIfe Speak by Parker Palmer
• Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran
• Welcoming the Unwelcome by Pema Chodron
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson