The meditation is going to be a very short reading on a passage from this book called Healing the Heart of Democracy.
It's by Parker Palmer,
An incredible teacher,
And I would say a mentor of mine.
So we just want to get our feet firmly planted on the ground.
Just letting the eyes fall closed.
Sensing into the sound.
Letting that vibration move into our bodies,
Into our hearts,
Into our minds.
Deepening the breath.
Taking some really conscious breaths.
Inhaling deeply.
Exhaling out through the mouth.
Letting ourselves have that gentle release.
Exhale.
Inhaling deeply.
Expanding into our heart.
Exhaling.
Softening.
Coming into that place of witness.
Just noticing what is here,
Right now,
In me,
At this moment.
Attuning ourselves with that.
Attuning ourselves with this beautiful sound.
What are we feeling through all of our senses?
And welcoming in kindness.
With every breath we offer ourselves a deep kindness.
Life-giving breath.
It's right there,
Right at our heart.
Right at our center.
With every breath,
Inhaling.
We give more space for our heart to be,
For our heart to feel.
So I invite you,
In this stillness,
At this moment,
Just you and your breath,
And this community,
Breathing and feeling together,
Contemplate these words.
If you hold your knowledge of self and world wholeheartedly,
Your heart will at times get broken by loss,
Failure,
Defeat,
Betrayal,
Or death.
What happens next in you and the world around you depends on how your heart breaks.
If it breaks apart into a thousand pieces,
The result may be anger,
Depression,
And disengagement.
If it breaks open into greater capacity to hold the complexities and contradictions of human experience,
The result may be new life.
The heart is what makes us human,
And politics,
Which is the use of power to order our life together,
Is a profoundly human enterprise.
Politics,
In the hands of those whose hearts have been broken open,
Not apart,
Helps us hold our differences creatively and use our power courageously for the sake of a more equitable,
Just,
And compassionate world.
A heart that breaks open,
And all the tension,
Conflict,
Divisiveness that's happening,
It does break our hearts,
It does break our hearts,
But we don't need to break apart,
We can break open to hold more,
To grow our capacity,
To empower loving action,
And to share that love with the world.
Taking three more big,
Deep breaths together,
Inhaling,
And exhaling.
Really let the shoulders drop,
The air come out gently,
Inhaling,
Feel the heart opening,
Exhale,
Softening,
And one more big inhale,
Filling up with all the intention you have for the week,
Really bringing that into your heart,
Into your mind,
What is my intention for this week,
For this community,
For my society,
Holding that there.
Feeling the spaciousness,
And even just that bit of opening that's possible.
