Writings: Memorial Day (US) thoughts, from Arlo….

Those of you who follow Brother Ian know that we here at the monastary are big fans of Arlo Guthrie, so it was a treat to hear his posting for this American holiday… I love the notion of the “gift of hesitation,” and the idea that we might make the world a better place by waiting, just a moment.

He’s right – it makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks, Arlo, and thanks for helping re-shape the idea of service into something we can all share & celebrate:

From Housatonic, MA – The Church: After three nights of our semi-annual revival, I had a wonderful morning this Memorial Day, which is also the birthday of my beloved Guru, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati – or more universally known simply as Ma.

We did a simple memorial meditation with about 60 people sitting either on the floor or in chairs – It was back in the saddle again as far as teaching goes (something I haven’t done for a little while).

The basic idea this morning was to honor those who have given their lives in service – whether that service was for a nation or a larger community, whether they passed away on a distant shore or here at home.

For some the sacrifices made by others in the past are not very different from the little sacrifices we can make every day – to make this world a little better place. Every act of kindness is an offering on the alter of our lives. Every moment we sacrifice our instinct to lash out in judgement we bestow on the world the gift of hesitation – every expectation of ourselves and others sacrifices ultimate disappointment and disillusion and substitutes gratitude and thankfulness.

These are little things – but they make all the difference in the world.

Judgements and expectations inevitably lead to anger and sorrow. Giving them up is not a commandment, it’s more like a recipe – you get out of it what you put in to it.

That was essentially the theme of our morning – I think we’ll have to do this again sometime. It was so good to see so many friends from so many different traditions come together and spend a little silent time together… Until next time…

adg

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Here’s Arlo in the ’80s, with “All Over the World,” and his thoughts about foreign policy, and the president’s appreciation.

And here’s Arlo in July 2012, because sometimes you just gotta keep singing’ & tellin’ stories about this stuff: