Emptying

This weekend, my early June musings began with a quick weather check, dusted with a quote from the Los Angeles Times: "The L.A. region begins the year with the smoggiest first five months in a decade." I opened the blinds, and sure enough, it was a hazy day. The article continued with a discussion of asthma and a "wide range of respiratory illnesses, plaguing Southern California." Yet, in spite of the gloom, there were also reports of hope and recognition that pollution laws, state regulatory systems, and public monitoring, have actually reduced pollution, despite the 2026 stagnation. The morning read left me with a sense of balance and I reflected on the Buddhist insight, "Emptiness is form and form is emptiness." What is this leap, from one layer of life--the reckoning of human impact on our environment--to reckoning with Emptiness and the Fullness of Form?

June has brought me a delayed sense of "out with the old". I'm cleaning out my grandkids' school backpacks, stacks of the school year's homework, and bits of lunchbox debris. This has become a new June ritual for the end of school year, and the beginning of summer freedom. It has sparked my own need to release that which is no longer useful. It is a time of "Emptying". To put it simply, life requires us to built and establish, and yes, accumulate experience, knowledge, and relationships. Inevitably, we accumulate "Things". Sooner or later, circumstances shift, knowledge is revised, or lost and replaced; relationships are altered, or dissolved, or re-discovered. We change with the changing times, changing even our ways of resistance to change.

This week, the balance is shifting to Emptiness as release, a time to empty out things and ideas, you no longer need. It may seem that clearing out things--stuff--is a separate chore, sorting, choosing, releasing concrete forms, but of course "things" are inevitably connected to our ideas.

There is at least one idea, one belief, hooked to whatever object you collect or release. A time of release includes a time of giving up answers that no longer serve you well. Nature, and our individual intuitive spirit, balances change with stability, and stability with change. Even while we turn our focus to the most mundane project of clearing out and cleaning up, emptying the so called "trash" of our daily life, we are participating in the wholeness of Life's balance. Why not trust it, this June of 2026. As I finish, the sky outside, literally, has cleared. (Susan Nettleton)

for Poetry https://www.emptinessisfull.com/emptiness-is-full.html https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/K/KerouacJack/soundofsilen/index.html https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/M/MerwinWS/FindingaTeac/index.html

The Bitter

May is ending and June begins, soon to bring the summer solstice the Northern hemisphere, as well as more news on midterm primaries and election bids. Earlier this week I was rummaging around my book shelves, feeling the need to shift my own thinking with the shift into June. My eyes landed on a book, rather tattered with age: The Legend of the Baal-Shem by Martin Buber. I have not picked it up in years. Curious, I randomly flipped through it. The Baal-Shem (meaning Master of God's Name) was an 18th Century Rabbi in Eastern Europe, who founded and led the Hasidic movement. Hasidism is known for being a fervent, devotional and mystical branch of Judaism. There is always a bit of magic to stories of the Baal-Shem. What caught me, was simply the opening of a chapter that began with the death bed of the Master, surrounded by his closest disciples.

As he lay on the bed close to death, the Baal-Shem spoke quietly to each disciple in the room, advising them of their life without him, and the spirit in which they should live. It evoked memories of my experience of a silent "death watch", sitting with my friend and teacher, U.G. Krishnamurti. So I leaned into the powerful opening of the story. Later in the chapter, the story takes a different twist and turn, but what caught me was the opening, and the Master's message to this last disciple, the one who served and stayed near, Rabbi Simon. The Baal Shem announced that following the Baal-Shem's death, Rabbi Simon must travel constantly. He was charged with going to all the places where Jews dwelled, visiting their homes, telling the stories of his own experience living with the Master. He would have no home, and live by only what money and provisions the people placed in his hands. Rabbi Simon loved to talk about the Baal-Shem and loved repeating his words. But he could not grasp how he could live as an "eternal wanderer", without tangible means of support. He felt it was not possible. He stubbornly challenged his fate with "a drop of bitterness"that pierced the death scene, as he bitterly declared to the Master that these final instructions made no sense. His intolerable fate would make him a "wandering vagabond" and "the poorest pilgrim below".

I will stop the story here and tell you, in time, Rabbi Simon accepted his fate, and became a wanderer. Things did work out for him, as the master had reassured him in that final encounter. But what struck me, as I read, was the phrase "a drop of bitterness". Spiritually, we often talk of the power of love and forgiveness--itself a form of sweetness--when reconciling our emotional pain and disappointment. It's easy to just skip over recognition of human bitterness. Bitterness is not just anger or hurt feelings; it has the element of a sharp, unpleasant, even acred "taste". In this case, the "taste" is felt emotionally, as resentment, as festering dissatisfaction, or hardened hatred. Bitterness blocks forgiveness and our ability to reconcile.

We can try to bury resentment and cover it over with various spiritual practices, but it seems to me more adaptive and freeing to explore it within our own nature. There are those who say, "take the bitter with the sweet", in the unfolding discovery and maturation of our lives. What does your inner life tell you? Is it time to release the bitter? (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://allpoetry.com/poem/8540251-Forgiveness-by-George-William-A.E.-Russell https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/D/DickinsonEmi/ImcededIve/index https://wordsfortheyear.com/2014/05/20/a-settlement-by-mary-oliver/poem/

Memorial Weekend 2026

Welcome to Memorial Day weekend--a turning toward summer, letting the seasonal shift preview summer--or rather--images of the iconic summer fantasy. We will see what actually unfolds weather-wise in the next 3 weeks, before June brings Summer Solstice 2026. Over the years of reflection on Memorial Day weekend, I have churned on the American contrast and blending of both mourning and cavorting--grief and play. Memorial Day, reserved for honoring those who have died while serving in America's military, was established after the Civil War, in 1886. It has had an evolving history, that includes becoming a national holiday in 1971 and then, in 2000, furthered by President Clinton's National Moment of Remembrance Act, designating 3:00 p.m., in your local time, as a moment to stop, be silent,, and remember in gratitude, as well as grief, those who died in American military service.

Remember, too, that we are currently at war, somewhat paused (depending on which news outlet or social media you follow), with diplomatic negotiations. Silent remembrance at 3:00 p.m. Monday for the past, united with people throughout the country that you do not know and will most likely never meet, all in recognition of the price of war and its sacrifice is a powerful, collective experience. Why not extend that to pausing throughout this week for the collective goal of Peace? No specific time period required. I guarantee you, many people across the planet, pray for peace daily.

Prayer and silence is the inward turning, but Memorial Weekend is also a celebration of life; an affirmation that Life can be Joyous. Life is unfathomable, really. Rich in it's Wonders. Honoring those who have given their lives, ultimately in the hope of extending Life, whatever their personal understanding or intent was, adds to the balance--our individual balance of understanding of life and death, and adds to a collective recognition that we are not separate from those we have never met, or those we have lost and miss.

So collectively, Americans travel, explore, bask in nature, pretend Summer has arrived. We swim, sail, wave flags, hold parades, share our barbecue and picnics and eat. We remember the fallen. We remember Life's ongoing renewal of the seasons. We pray for Peace. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields

https://www.secularfranciscansusa.org/wp-content/uploads/Peace-Prayer-of-Saint-Francis.pdf

https://americanliterature.com/author/kahlil-gibran/book/the-prophet/on-prayer

Ease

A few days ago, I woke up to the sound of dinging. Morning text dings have replaced ringing phone calls as the end of sleep. No need to set an alarm; these texts carried their own alarms--news flashes, nearby street closures, L.A.P..D. missing persons announcements, a group text with war updates, and another with disturbing election news. Prospects for the day seemed to sink. This annoyed me, so I declared to myself, "May is not Mayhem!" I decided despite the early disruption, I would have a day of Ease. It seemed only natural to extend that vow into this Sunday post, initiating the upcoming week as a spiritual discovery and practice of Ease.

This does not mean that the days are suddenly smooth sailing. After my self-declaration on what May is not, the days were double packed with responsibilities and urgent tasks, making it difficult to remember the path of Ease, but that is the usual course of a new practice. Start with small pieces of Ease, recognizing them, remembering Ease, approaching the increasingly difficult or resistant chore, more relaxed and more gently. Try completing simple tasks with the recognition that they are not barriers to the day, but belong to the day's meaning and ...joy. There is joy in each day, It takes practice to recognize it and, even if very briefly, savor it.

A few months ago, I took 2 grandchildren with me to buy office and school supplies at the local Staples store. The kids were spying around for some inexpensive toy or treat. One of them found a plastic disc in a markdown items basket--it was part of a past promotional slogan on how easy it was to shop for supplies. When you push down on the disc, it announces, in a slightly excited, but victorious voice, "That was Easy!" I loved it and so did she, so we bought it. For a few weeks, when faced with a household chore or a school homework project, she would gleefully run and get the disc, and when the job was done, the voice rang out, "That was Easy!" Sometimes she surprised me after-the-fact, sneaking in the disc, including times when I had complained! Now I see an expanded value to the ritual.

To build a sense of Ease, you start with the obvious easy moment, and then that expands to a beginning recognition that life is actually full of Ease, every day there are moments of Ease. But difficulties tend to cast shadows that obscure the underlying Ease of life, the do-able, the delightful. Like any cognitive/emotional process, the more we recognize those Easy moments, the more awareness expands our capacity for Ease. The more we dwell on difficulty, the more space it fills in our expectations of disappointment and more difficulty. Consider this week that simply recognizing the way of Ease, in whatever activity presents itself, can pave the way to an Easier Life. Try it; it's Easy. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/155965/ease

https://medium.com/know-thyself-heal-thyself/path-of-ease-1d2a3dd1d8b2

https://www.wisdom2be.com/gems-poetry-wisdomstories/when-the-shoe-fits-by-chuang-tzu

Signs and Wonders

Last Sunday, I pursued the subtle. It was good preparation for some wild days that erupted later in the week!. With the energy burst of May blooms, there is also the touch of the wild and a whirl-wind of activity as the culture revs up, before summer. Today is Mother's Day, a time of appreciation for those who "mother" us, and hopefully that appreciation includes a small window that allows "moms" a day of ease. Even with all our modern appliances, and our knowledge of the importance of balance in life, "moms" lead pressured lives. I use the word "mom" to acknowledge every year, those who assume the role--regardless of the genetics and lineage-- of mother.

In my world, the past week erupted in that whirl-wind push of May with scheduling shifts, local school events, last minute errands, and well...Life blooming. One evening, a rushed dinner prep, put all the busyness into spiritual perspective. Unloading some hastily bought groceries, I shoved things into the refrigerator. Then, I remembered I didn't clean the radishes. I keep them prepped in the fridge for easy last minute salads. With a tired sigh, I begrudgingly found a knife and a colander, and began to trim and wash. Then a thought popped into my mind:

"The man pulling radishes, pointed the way with a radish." (Issa)

I have not thought of Issa's poem for a long time, and I had to smile (and relax), that it so spontaneously floated into my awareness. Kobayashi Nobuyuki, (1763-1828) is a famed Japanese Haiku poet. In many ways, he had a tragic life, including the death of his mother, when he was only 3. Yet, his poetry lives on in the beauty of simplicity that offers layers and layers of meaning. The poem nudged me to finish my chore and then sit with it in meditation.

Sometimes, it is the very light touch of another's journey that brings us to Peace. May is full of signs and wonder, including the stray thought that leads us back to our own inner path. (Susan Nettleton)

"In the cherry blossom's shade, there's no such thing as a stranger." Issa

For poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/B/Buson/springrain/index.html https://www.poeticous.com/david-whyte/the-lightest-touch https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/I/IssaKobayash/springday/index.html https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/L/LeeLiYoung/BecomeBecomi/index.html

The Subtle

May brings the full blossoming of spring. I am looking out the window, through fruit trees and oaks, up to the mountain above them, and above that mountain, the white clouds and blue sky. Yes, the full blossoming of spring. And we, the people of the Northern hemisphere, on some subtle level are in bloom as well. Even as conflict rages, and absurd events flaunt the news and social media, we humans are in the season for beauty to bloom through art, through discovery, through compassion and a heightened awareness of the natural world. Outwardly, Nature is vividly bursting free; inwardly, consider the possibility that subtle layers of awareness, long blocked by thought and the mind's incessant chatter, can also open and bloom. If, as Larry Morris said, "May is for manifestation," then we have the opportunity for clearer reception of inner spiritual direction, revelation, and demonstration.

May is a good time to revamp our meditation practice. Just like Nature with its seemingly infinite variety of life forms, there are abundant forms of meditation. I personally have woven through times of meditation in prayer form, or sat in simple silence, or entered into imagery, or sat with with mantra repetition, or let the mind lead through a mix, with stillness, or movement. But the last few days, I felt the pull to return to a mantra that was gifted to me almost 20 years ago. I felt the pull to focus my full attention in gentle repetition, not really expecting anything new. It just seemed like the thing to do that morning. I had always assumed mantra meditation was to calm the "monkey" mind, as thoughts fly around, jumping from one idea, memory, or concern to another, while the mind, occupied with a mantra, brought quiet awareness. During this meditation though, I watched my own mental processes pulling toward MY mental "agenda" in meditation: I had turned from my thoughts to give way to the mantra. But then it hit me; the mantra was only another mental activity. It just occupied the mind, while the "inner directive" the deeper connection, the movement of the Transcendent, came forth in the tiniest subtle direction, circumventing the mantra, the thinking, the pauses of silence--all of "meditation practice". What was most significant was Its subtlety. I realized how delicate this inner "communion/communication" is. So delicate and subtle, we very rarely become aware of It. Yet, something on an unconscious, or subconscious level, receives it anyway.

There is teaching story (often attributed to Buddha) that in various versions compares the practice of meditation to tuning an string instrument--a sitar, lyre, or in the West, a guitar: "Not too loose, not too tight." When the strings of an instrument are too tight, they break; if they are too loose, they produce no sound. This speaks to a balance point in our own practice of meditation. If you try to force your thoughts-- your worries, your fears, your pain-- into your sense of peaceful submission, your strings are too tight. If you just let your thoughts wander, and your attention wanders with them, you really aren't meditating. It's too loose, we loose subtle awareness. We all go through either process at times, and it's useful to recognize that. One way to restore balance is to remember the simple truth expressed by the Sufi poet Rumi, "What you seek, seeks you." Your mantra, or other meditation practice, is still the churning mind, with the volume turned down. Light can break through in unexpected flashes of wonder and insight, while you sit, or in extraordinary experiences that come while you are out and about in the world. But those are rare events. Consider this week, meditation as your acceptance of this subtle, subtle, movement, a daily opening of an inner door. Meditation is subtlety turning you to receive what is always freely given. (Susan Nettleton)

Why May come if not to release us to warm joy harmony and awaken us from lingering winter slumbers into God's Way for us Now.

(Larry Morris, Poems Hanging in Space)

For more poetry: https://www.poemi st.com/denise-levertov/aware#google_vignette https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43333/the-waking-56d2220f25315 https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/B/BerryWendell/RealWork/index.html

Disruption

As we enter this last week of April, I am hoping for a smoother ride. Whether we are following oil prices, airline availability, war escalation or de-escalation, upcoming election predictions, or neighborhood news reports, this month continues the 2025, into 2026 theme of disruption. It's a word that is popular in all sorts of political strategies and commentary. Large scale disruption of any social/political events collectively affects us to some degree, even if we personally are not actively identified with the sudden shifts. Those events are often designed to de-stabilize a sense of security and predictability in the play of power and social control. But there are other ways we experience disruption and this week, I invite your to consider personal disruption from a spiritual perspective.

Consider the times when Life is moving you along in a smooth ride--a metaphoric, open 4 lane freeway. You elegantly, take each curve and then, through absolutely no fault of your own, you are suddenly ensnared in non-moving traffic. What was planned as an enjoyable 30 minute drive, becomes a 5 hour non-moving nightmare. True, you are sharing that experience with everyone else sitting in stalled traffic, but this spiritual reflection is about your interpretation of disruption. The smooth sailing flow of freedom is blocked. Or, as I experienced this week, sudden engine trouble led me to drop off my car at the auto mechanic in a long busy day. I eventually returned home, carless, in the dark. I headed to the kitchen to figure out dinner, only to discover the water was turned off. It took a few texts to learn that an ongoing remodeling project next door had led to a plumbing issue and would shut down water flow for 3 or 4 days! (The construction contractor: "Oh, we forgot to warn you. Sorry.") No car, no water. Disruption.

As I write this (in a hotel room), the Zen tale of the nun Chiyono comes to mind. Chiyono studied Zen for many years without attaining enlightenment. Then one night, under a full moon, she carried water in an old pail made with bamboo. The bamboo broke; the bottom fell out of the pail, and Chiyono was set free. Her poem on the experience is one of my favorites: "In this way and that I tried to save the old pail/ Since the bamboo strip was weakening and about to break/ Until at last the bottom fell out/ No more water in the pail!/ No more moon in the water!"

Is it possible that what the mind and emotions label disruption of your plans and intentions, is actually its own form of Grace? A re-direct. A deepening. A time to give way to change. This is the spiritual practice of intuitive guidance. Intuitive guidance is not just inner receptivity to guidance that gently confirms our positive expectations. Sometimes guidance comes through road blocks, sometimes through disarray. Sometimes it comes in a whispered, "not yet." Where is it leading you? (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://www.livingwellnessmag.com/poems/disruption https://pvcann.com/2023/10/15/such-a-gentle-disruption-a-poem-by-paul-vincent-cannon/ https://allpoetry.com/poem/16411688-Disruption-by-Matthew-Gregor

Cosmic View

The New Moon last Friday night, just the barest sliver in the evening, inspired me to reflect on the wonder of the cosmos. All the pressured political events, spilling over into religious squabbles, can quickly muddle awareness of the mystery and majesty of Life on Earth. Of course, this new moon holds added intensity--with 7 planetary bodies hovering in astrological formation in Ares. In addition, while the moon is still crescent, the annual Lyrid meteor shower will be more visible, with as many as 10-20 shooting stars per hour at it's peak Tuesday night! The Lyrid meteors are actually debris from the Thatcher comet, which itself is only visible every 415 years. The earth passes over the meteor showers every year around this same time and records of the meteor event go back over 2,5000 years.

Even more phenomenal, collectively, we are still processing new visions of our moon, across the backdrop of space mission Artemis II. I am still absorbing the Artemis Flight. Evidently, so are the astronauts, along with anyone fascinated by human capacity to launch outside the atmosphere, and beyond. They launched on April 1, and flew, 230,000 miles out into space, returning to the Pacific Ocean, on April 10, setting the new record for human travel from Earth, a total trip of 695,081 miles. The flight took me back to 1969, and Apollo 11, and earlier flights, my family waking up early in the morning to watch launches on T.V. Growing up in Houston, the "Space Age City", meant being prepared to discuss the latest flight events when summer was over and it was back to class. With Artemis II, though, there is a greater depth of meaning, that the star-struck astronauts brought home to us. Yes, in 2026, the space above the sky, the lower Earth orbit, is now filled with satellites, and even holds the amazing International Space Station, which I often forget is accessible to us via cameras. (In fact, I stopped to take a peak right now, and learned there are 7 astronauts on board, saw their names and bio's, 408 km above earth, passing over Mongolia as I write...https://isslivenow.com/). But the impact of Artemis II, is the Wonder and Awe the crew has conveyed.

That Wonder seemed particularly palpable when speaking of their time that stretched further than any previous flight--beyond radio contact with Mission Control, relying only on each other. That reliance revealed the true depth of human connection. Consider these quotes from the crew as they faced the reporters when back on the ground. Astronaut Jeremy Hansen: "Humans are just great people...What I have seen has brought me more joy and more hope for our future." What he was left pondering was "the depth of the galaxy". Astronaut Christine Koch: "Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbedly in the universe. Planet Earth, you are crew." Astronaut Glover, coming home to a neighborhood celebration for him, spoke of love for all, and loving "our neighbors as ourself." "Lets be neighbors."Astronaut Hansen, spoke of the love they shared, and expanded it, "When you look here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you."

This seems like the week to take the Cosmic View, beyond power plays, marketing, and tired scripts. We may never board a space craft, but our awareness can and does expand. It's a good week to move beyond tight frames of reference and binding social constructs. What is that view from the Cosmos?...Love as connection that is not Earth bound... Consider, not just outer travel, but inner as well. (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://poets.org/poem/when-i-heard-learnd-astronomer https://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/armstrong/poem.html https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/C/CarpenterEdw/Freedomdeep/index.html https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/157986/high-flight-627d3cfb1e9b7

Waiting

April brings more than spring flowers--it is tax season in America and so we have yet another reason to look back on the year we have left behind. It's psychologically more difficult to embrace the forward movement of Nature's cyclical seasons, while simultaneously meeting the responsibility of social and legal requirements. If you haven't completed your April paperwork, consider taking a break or two to remind yourself that outside, whatever the weather, Life is expressing as spring. And you, as an aspect of Nature, are expressing spring, even if in struggle.

My personal struggle this week popped up unexpectedly in meditation. Sitting quietly, I was aware of the background "to do list" still running through my mind. It was seemingly a long, long list that included more than tax filing. With a sigh, I exhaled the stream of thought, and found silence. Then one word popped into my mind. It was not a word I wanted to "hear." I almost dismissed it, but then caught it again, as it faded..."Wait." Of course, my mind immediately started questioning. Wait for what? Why?

When you feel pressured, waiting can seem like a waste of time. We mix it up with fearful or resentful resistance and procrastination, but sometimes, waiting is an art. While we may affirm our capacity to receive Grace, Healing, Understanding, Right Action, Prosperity, Love--right here, right now--there is something to timing in the unfolding of Life. We are unique individuals, but our lives intersect with other lives, our events impact other events. Our events are impacted by the unfolding Good of others. Sometimes we need to wait as Life unfolds, and we are not given explanations nor time tables by the Universe. It is a matter of Trust.

Meanwhile, the entirety of Life, and the entirety of your personal life, are not on hold. I guarantee you there are other duties and delights reaching out to you, while you wait. Waiting is not inactive, because Life is Large. Find the unrelated task. Venture out of routine and/or place. Head for discovery--inside your home, or outside your door--outside your perimeters. Divine Timing is stirring you to new perspective. Give it a chance this week. (Susan Nettleton)

"All is in Divine Timing, and I am guided every step of the way."

For poetry: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48946/kneeling-56d22a97b5917 https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/R/RilkeRainerM/AboutPatienc/index.html https://monadnock.net/burroughs/waiting.html

Easter Sunday 2026

Today is Easter Sunday. Depending on your religious background and beliefs, Easter Sunday can be the spiritual highlight of the year, or it may have mellowed into picnics and Easter egg hunts, with little recognition of its religious roots. Still, Easter has been celebrated in many different forms for 2,000 years. Of course, there are religious celebrations in other belief systems that have continued across much longer time spans. Religious beliefs and ceremony are like the deep roots of ancient forest trees that still survive; we too, as aspects of nature, have our deep roots--the human roots of tradition, ceremony, with stories of ancient times and prophesies of our future. To me, those roots underscore my sense that life thrives in variation. In many ways, our understanding of religion is divisive, as if the "right way" is to strive to bring all of humanity into one Belief, but Life is abundantly diverse.

This week, I once again encourage you to reflect on these themes of variation and diversity as the ongoing, living, thriving pulse of the natural world. Cultural and political structures are a kind of subset of Life's variation and Life is vastly more than human attempts to contain it in isolated belief structures. Even within a given religion, there are subsets within subsets, histories within histories, reformulations, and hidden, esoteric interpretations. What a wonder! What a puzzle--all the pieces don't match, but then again, some do, some line up. My point is to encourage your own inner structures of belief, and the way those structures of beliefs and understanding mesh with pieces held by others, and the way they simply may not. That is the weave of human consciousness--accepting agreement and non-agreement.

In honor of Easter then, consider these quotes from Jesus and their relevancy for April, 2026: "The kingdom of God comes not with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you". Note the individuality implied here, rather than a collective experience; the entire spiritual realm is within you. And yet, you are within It. This is the Mystery, and very much in the spirit of a Zen Koan.

Consider Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 12: 30-31 as Jesus speaks of the greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

This is clarified further in Luke 10:25-37 in the Parable of the Good Samaritan: "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law?' He (Jesus) replied. 'How do you read it?' He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbor as yourself.' ‘You have answered correctly’, Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live.' But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'"

This is the heart of the questions and definitions that for centuries, many have used to circumvent the basic teaching: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus answers by saying, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, who came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denari and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,' he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'" (Note, Levites were descents from the Jewish Tribe of Levi, who served as singers, guards, and assistant to the priests and Samaritans were a mixed race with different religious practices, including paganism. Samaritans were generally looked down upon and shunned by the Jews.)

Jesus then asked, "'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’’ Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”.

Beyond all the interpretations of the crucifixion, the conflicts within Christianity, and conflicts between religions, (and non-religion), there is this teaching to contemplate: Love your neighbor; help where and when you can. Happy Easter. Enjoy the delights of Spring. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/T/TagoreRabind/1Thouhastmad/index.html https://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/2015/04/james-broughton-easter-exultet.html https://www.all-creatures.org/poetry/swan.html