Posts Tagged with courage

Published

heart-path

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The road I walk is not straight, but rather follows my heart. And I can see that sometimes ― from the outside ― it seems to meander in unpredictable ways. But my heart has never lied to me. Has never steered me into a situation I couldn’t eventually handle. Has never forgotten that u-turns are a valuable and viable way to travel. For it’s not indecision or lack of conviction that encourages me to double back on myself, but rather a desire to revisit something beautiful, something I hadn’t fully internalized, something bigger than I was able to absorb the first time around. My heart is not interested in the efficiency of direct routes, or getting somewhere quickly, or at a certain time. Instead it craves the quality and depth of connection, the willingness of another being to slow down and engage in a full sharing of attention, the courage and humility of opening to each other in every way we know how.

— heidi kalyani, 2016
from the *nothing is black and white* project: illustration created out of meditation with a single unbroken line

Published

connection

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I wonder, as we walk on the dusty dykeland path in the still warm sun of late summer, if you crave human touch as much as I do. If you also want to reach out across the invisible but, sadly real, societal boundary between us ― to take my hand in yours, to feel its warmth, its alternating roughness and smoothness, the history of its microscopic scars, the story of its aliveness. Each day, in a multitude of ways (some tiny, some huge), we buy into the myth of separateness, of us as isolated islands, unconnected to each other, to our surroundings, to the visceralness of life around us. And each day, we starve a little more, our hearts shrinking, our capacity to reach out to each other evaporating, our collective memory of the power and naturalness of connection decaying like roadkill. Who will step up and offer the courage, the trust, the simple open-hearted compassion to reach a hand across this destructive and manufactured divide?

— heidi kalyani, 2016
from the *nothing is black and white* project: illustration created out of meditation with a single unbroken line

Published

passion

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Do not apologize for your passion. It’s what lights you on fire, and your heat and illumination are needed right now as our planet stands at the tipping point of great transformation. As a fire-being, you can melt even the most fortified walls of fear-protection, you can shine light on the creatures of darkest doubt and cynicism, you can transform the deep anger and pain of the most damaged souls. Your passion is pure energy — it provides courage to those who are afraid of the dark, fuel to those who are hungry or burned-out, inspiration to those who have never pulsated so intensely. It’s the most beautiful and potent thing in the world — celebrate it!

— heidi kalyani, 2016
from the *nothing is black and white* project: illustration created out of meditation with a single unbroken line

Published

loving difference

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Indian author and philosopher, Krishnamurti wrote, “You discover yourself not in isolation, not in withdrawal, but in relationship.” When I zoom out — and see myself in the larger context of a relationship, a group, a community, a culture, a planet — a richer picture develops. The act of discovering contrasts (as well as similarities) can help me clarify me own stories, feelings and needs. And the challenge of truly being in relationship with others awakens a multitude of heart-opening, ego-bursting, illusion-shattering realities that steer me firmly, if not gently, into a greater state of awareness. Yesterday, a friend said to me, “Love is the appreciation of difference”. I agree. And furthermore, I believe that stepping out of our own little orbits and really embracing people — for who and what they are without trying to change them — is an intensely radical act of courage, especially in a culture that has become so suspicious and fearful of “the other”.

— heidi kalyani, 2016
from the *nothing is black and white* project: illustration created out of meditation with a single unbroken line