The Dharma Frog was here earlier than usual this morning and after he left, I found I had lots to mull over. Our lesson today was about love but, really, it went far beyond that.
Today's lesson was a 3-fer.
"A frog's sword should be love; goodness his armor, and humor his shield." These, my wise teacher taught me, are the humans' weapons of mass creation....the frogs' too!
My mother always taught me that love can create more good in the world than all the money. Mom's always right. Love has magical powers. It is transformative. We see evidence of that in our daily lives. Love makes us flourish. The need to love, and to be loved, is an intrinsic part of life...and not just for humans. All of the world's wisdom traditions teach us, in one way or another, to love others as we love ourselves. Yet today the world is filled with hatred, bigotry, and a growing sense of separateness among the world's populations. We've become a society of "us" versus "them." How is that we can know, at a gut-level, that love is all that's really important, and STILL persist in doing everything we can to destroy it? The Dharma Frog cannot know, of course, all the reasons why this occurs, but he believes that it is caused, in large part, by fear; fear of those that are not like us. We are terrified of finding out that we are actually all the same...with the same hopes, dreams, and desires for the future. Change is scary. But what if, and this is a big one, we actually tried to love everybody, especially those that look, think, and act differently from us? What then? Might love become a new kind of armament, replacing hatred and ignorance as our weapon of choice? Love, then, would become the sword, our own Excalibur, with the universal power to slay ALL the world's demons and ills.
The second part of Dharma's lesson tells us that goodness should be our armor. Whether or not we realize it, each of us "suits up" every day. For some of us, our armor becomes the clothes we wear. For others, it can be our job, or the car we drive. Armor is, according to Dharma, whatever we choose to hide behind. Do we dare to think about cloaking ourselves only in goodness and kindness? What would that feel like? I mean think about it...think about walking around being more than a little vulnerable and relying on our innate goodness as our only "protection," eliminating the need for all the trappings of material possessions that serve to mask our true identity to the world...just like a suit of armor. It's an interesting thought. From the time we're tadpoles, and little children, we're taught the Golden Rule. But are we always kind to others, even when we expect others to be kind to us? No! Shouldn't we be able to give as good as we take? But kindness and goodness are like yo-yo's; they always come back to us once we learn how to use them. Goodness and kindness is one "suit of armor" that's truly one-size-fits-all. Good ahead. Try it on. It'll look great on you!
The third, and final, part of Dharma's lesson says to shield ourselves with humor. And how true that is! We can use humor to deflect a negative situation...to keep it from escalating and getting out of hand. The world today can often be scary and a little depressing. Being able to see a little humor in everything can save us many tears. Personally, I'd rather laugh than cry! Too, we can use it to heal...ourselves, our relationships, and even our health. Humor has mighty powers. It's so important not to take ourselves too seriously. Humor can help with that, as well. There's no such thing as perfect. We all have faults and flaws...dare I say we all have WARTS? It's true. As soon as we quit trying to be Mr. or Ms. Fancy Pants, life becomes easier and more fun. We are less stressed. Trying to achieve perfection is both exhausting and unobtainable. Learn to see the humor in everyday situations. And it's OK to laugh at yourself now and then. Laughter lightens the load.
Love, goodness, and humor are weapons of mass creation. They build, empower, and heal. According to Dharma, "Fight your battles with love. Cloak yourself in Goodness. And deflect the negative with a little humor. Using these weapons every day will not only serve you well, will make the world blossom in so many unexpected ways."
As always, my wise teacher has it 100% right.
Now, where did I leave my sword and suit of armor....
Today's lesson was a 3-fer.
"A frog's sword should be love; goodness his armor, and humor his shield." These, my wise teacher taught me, are the humans' weapons of mass creation....the frogs' too!
My mother always taught me that love can create more good in the world than all the money. Mom's always right. Love has magical powers. It is transformative. We see evidence of that in our daily lives. Love makes us flourish. The need to love, and to be loved, is an intrinsic part of life...and not just for humans. All of the world's wisdom traditions teach us, in one way or another, to love others as we love ourselves. Yet today the world is filled with hatred, bigotry, and a growing sense of separateness among the world's populations. We've become a society of "us" versus "them." How is that we can know, at a gut-level, that love is all that's really important, and STILL persist in doing everything we can to destroy it? The Dharma Frog cannot know, of course, all the reasons why this occurs, but he believes that it is caused, in large part, by fear; fear of those that are not like us. We are terrified of finding out that we are actually all the same...with the same hopes, dreams, and desires for the future. Change is scary. But what if, and this is a big one, we actually tried to love everybody, especially those that look, think, and act differently from us? What then? Might love become a new kind of armament, replacing hatred and ignorance as our weapon of choice? Love, then, would become the sword, our own Excalibur, with the universal power to slay ALL the world's demons and ills.
The second part of Dharma's lesson tells us that goodness should be our armor. Whether or not we realize it, each of us "suits up" every day. For some of us, our armor becomes the clothes we wear. For others, it can be our job, or the car we drive. Armor is, according to Dharma, whatever we choose to hide behind. Do we dare to think about cloaking ourselves only in goodness and kindness? What would that feel like? I mean think about it...think about walking around being more than a little vulnerable and relying on our innate goodness as our only "protection," eliminating the need for all the trappings of material possessions that serve to mask our true identity to the world...just like a suit of armor. It's an interesting thought. From the time we're tadpoles, and little children, we're taught the Golden Rule. But are we always kind to others, even when we expect others to be kind to us? No! Shouldn't we be able to give as good as we take? But kindness and goodness are like yo-yo's; they always come back to us once we learn how to use them. Goodness and kindness is one "suit of armor" that's truly one-size-fits-all. Good ahead. Try it on. It'll look great on you!
The third, and final, part of Dharma's lesson says to shield ourselves with humor. And how true that is! We can use humor to deflect a negative situation...to keep it from escalating and getting out of hand. The world today can often be scary and a little depressing. Being able to see a little humor in everything can save us many tears. Personally, I'd rather laugh than cry! Too, we can use it to heal...ourselves, our relationships, and even our health. Humor has mighty powers. It's so important not to take ourselves too seriously. Humor can help with that, as well. There's no such thing as perfect. We all have faults and flaws...dare I say we all have WARTS? It's true. As soon as we quit trying to be Mr. or Ms. Fancy Pants, life becomes easier and more fun. We are less stressed. Trying to achieve perfection is both exhausting and unobtainable. Learn to see the humor in everyday situations. And it's OK to laugh at yourself now and then. Laughter lightens the load.
Love, goodness, and humor are weapons of mass creation. They build, empower, and heal. According to Dharma, "Fight your battles with love. Cloak yourself in Goodness. And deflect the negative with a little humor. Using these weapons every day will not only serve you well, will make the world blossom in so many unexpected ways."
As always, my wise teacher has it 100% right.
Now, where did I leave my sword and suit of armor....
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