Peace Letter

So three posts in one day is a bit excessive, I know. I just received a letter from Bud and Sara Hudson who I have known since we moved to WI over 14 years ago. They included a wonderful excerpt from a book called Practicing Peace In Times of War by Pema Chödrön. It reads, "It's also the case that the seeds you sowed yesterday have their result in your own life today. And the seeds that the United States has sown in the lst year, five years, fifty years, hundred years, and so forth are having their impact on the world right now - and not just what the United States has sown but all the countries that are involved in the world situation today, being as painful as it is. We've been sowing these seeds for a long time. I know many of us feel a kind of despair about whether all this can ever unwind itself. The message of this book is that it has to happen at the level of individuals working with their own minds, because even if these tumultous times are the result of seeds that have been sown and reaped by whole nations, these nations of course are made up of millions of people who, just like ourselves, want happiness. So whatever we do today, tomorrow, and every day of our lives until we die sows the seeds for our own future in this lifetime and sows the seeds for the future of this planet. The Buddhist teachings also say that the seeds of our present-day actions will bear fruit hundreds of years from now. This may seem like an impossibly long time to wait, but if you think in terms of sowing seeds for your children's future and for your grandchildren's future and your grandchildren's grandchildren's future, perhaps that's more real and immediate to you. Nevertheless how we work with ourselves today is how a shift away from widespread aggression will come about." (86-88)

Thanks Sara and Bud!!! Your note is already inside my journal!