Acts of Loving Kindness - Building Our Communities

Dear friends,

A few years ago, my friend Lesley shared this Metta Sutra with me, and now I am sharing it with you for these trying times, and for better times ahead.

METTA SUTRA: THE SUTRA ON LOVING KINDNESS 

May I be free from greed, hate, and delusion. 

May I be full of self-sacrifice, love, and understanding. 

I charge my heart, which is now temporarily pure, 

With thoughts of Loving Kindness. 

I charge every cell of my being with thoughts of Loving Kindness. 

I build a healthy, happy aura of Loving Kindness around me, 

That no wicked thought or evil intention can penetrate. 

Now I am protected. 

I now send forth thoughts of Loving Kindness 

To all beings and creatures 

To everything animate and inanimate 

To everything that has taken rise in consciousness 

And to everything still in its causal state. 

I send forth these thoughts around me 

Around my dwelling 

Around my district 

Around the continent 

Around the world. 

Loving Kindness to all, Loving Kindness to all. 

Around the universe, Loving Kindness to all. 

Around the cosmos Loving Kindness, Loving Kindness to all. 

Loving Kindness to all who dwell above 

And Loving Kindness to those who dwell below. 

May all beings and creatures 

And everything animate and inanimate 

And everything that has reached Consciousness 

And everything still in its causal state: 

May all be happily minded. 

May none hurt each other in anger and in ill-will. 

May their minds be wholesome. 

May all have sufficient for their needs. 

May all be fortunate enough to encounter the Dharma. 

Humbly I accept the loving thoughts of everyone in return 

None excluded. 

And now I share the benefit of this meditation with everyone.

Building the foundations for the world we want.

When this nightmare ends - and it will end because all nightmares do - what will we replace it with? I mean, I can't see us going back to what was, and I hope we don't (should we actually be thanking these horrid creatures for blow torching the systems of extractions and inequality which so desperately needed replaced?). As I weep and rage at the monsters who've been consumed by greed, hatred and delusion, marching forward on their path of destruction, I look around me and I am also seeing people inspired to counter their poisonous actions with acts of loving kindness, creating a better world for everyone. Personally, I want to be a part of this community-building movement, and I hope you too are finding inspiration in the myriad acts of loving kindness unfolding all around us.

As the world has felt scarier and meaner and messier with each day, I've made it my mission to commit daily acts of loving kindness as a powerful antidote to all that other stuff. Reaching out to friends and acquaintances, saying something kind to strangers, supporting small businesses, dropping a positive comment or a heart on a post, engaging in cheerful banter, holding the door for the next person, acting goofy in public to elicit a smile or laugh (and encourage others to be goofy), listening fully when someone is speaking to me... Every chance I get to uplift someone else, I grab it, because I understand the science of how this works, how these things spread like ripples on a pond, how this is what our world really needs right now.

Fighting fires while building the world we want.

I know I'm always banging on about contacting this politician or that one, joining protests, etc, but I also believe that a simple kind word to the stranger standing next to you is equally important in these disturbing times. While thousands of Americans continue to stand up to ICE to protect their neighbours, thousands more folk are stepping up. Lawyers, politicians, bureaucrats are also joining in the fight to save democracy. Hell! Even a few Republicans are now (finally!) standing up to the Asshole-in-Chief! While this fascist regime is hellbent on setting everything on fire, good humans are turning out in droves to fight those fires while also laying the foundations for when we rebuild.

There are a bazillion small acts of loving kindness happening in every corner of this earth every minute of every day. I think it's important to take a second to recognize them when we see them, name them, appreciate them, and let them inspire us. In my own small corner, here are just a few examples of intentional community building acts of loving kindness. My sister drives local seniors on their weekly errands. Outreach workers are caring for our unhoused neighbours every day with food and support. My new favourite local North Perk Café has a knitting basket where sitters can' knit for a bit', adding their stitches (and love) to scarves for those who need protection from the cold. I'm sure you can list many more instances of acts of loving kindness happening in your corner of the world. I'd love to know what you're seeing.

People are ponying up for the good guys!

One of the ways that we're showing up for each other when the fascists try to take us down is with cash donations. When Portland-based Heretic Coffee first announced that they were offering free breakfasts to anyone losing their SNAP payment, a few cynics predicted that they would go bankrupt within a week, but instead, thousands of people who saw their post wanted to be a part of this kindness and donated what they could. As a result, Heretic Coffee ended up with well over $350,000 with which they are continuing their free breakfasts indefinitely as well as donating chunks of cash to other great organizations such as Black Futures Farm. And now, not only are they feeding hungry neighbours, but they're also providing shelter from ICE.

When Renee Nicole Good was murdered by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, a gofundme was started for her family raising a whopping $1.5million at last count. And, earlier this week when an employee at the Ford plant was suspended for heckling the Pedo-in-Chief, another gofundme was started and has raised a spectacular sum of cash for the now unemployed man and his family.

Those who can and who care are helping out those whom the regime would like to destroy. In fact, though the pain is very real for those at the receiving end of the cruelty campaign, through thousands of small donations, we are showering them with our loving and financial support

Literally, nourishing each other.

As a Jewish mama, for me, one of the most powerful acts of loving kindness comes in the form of sharing food. When we feed each other we provide nourishment for both body and soul. Food is love. Sharing food is solidarity.

Back in 2019, after the horrific attack on the Christchurch mosque in New Zealand, I joined a large crowd that showed up for our local Muslim population. I was so deeply moved by the event, I wrote this essay called 'Not Enough Samosas'. I feel like we are now reliving this moment of mass solidarity and shared food in response to tragedy.

Of course there weren’t enough samosas, because nobody thought for a minute that hundreds of people would show up to protect the mosque so that our Muslim brothers and sisters could pray in peace.  But we did show up. Hundreds of us. We stood shoulder to shoulder making sure that the mosque was surrounded with love and solidarity. I’m still not sure if I was more moved by the number of people ready to take a stand to support our Muslim community, or by the heartfelt thanks from the members of the mosque.

We live in terrifying times, and last week was a doozy.  You all know exactly what I’m talking about.  Now, imagine that was your community under fire. As a Jew, I suppose I have an inkling of what it feels like to be under threat for my ethnicity/culture/beliefs, but nothing has ever hit as close to home for me personally as the terror that has struck the Muslim world.  I am horrified that any group lives with the constant menace of being attacked while going about their peaceful business.  Evidently, hundreds of my fellow Victorians share my horror, and dropped everything when the local Sikh community decided that Friday prayers at the mosque should be conducted worry-free, and they put out the call to form a human chain of protection. We (did I mention there were hundreds of us?) were delighted to be there standing guard, and the response we received from those attending prayer was pure gratitude.

At the end, when prayers were over, and the mosque was emptying onto the street, if felt like a wedding, a celebration of love and joy.  We all shook hands and hugged and spoke kindly to each other – Muslim, Jew, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Atheist... we were all there to support each other. Out of the blue, food appeared, because what better way to share our humanity than to eat together? There were pistachio cookies. There were chocolates. And there were piping hot samosas. Just not enough of them, because whoever it was that graciously prepared those delicious treats never imagined that there would be hundreds of us gathering, on such short notice to show our Muslim neighbours how much we care.

When this nightmare ends

When this nightmare ends - and it will end because all nightmares do and because we will make it happen - what will we replace it with? I believe that we are already building the world we want to call home once we've defeated those consumed by greed, hatred and delusion. We are setting the foundations for a better world with our acts of loving kindness. Brave or gentle, big or small, loud or quiet, our acts are contagious. See them. Name them. Appreciate them. Share them.

With so much love,

Jessica (she/her)