Warriors for the Human Spirit

Warriors for the Human Spirit are awake human beings who have chosen not to flee. They abide. They serve as beacons of an ancient story that tells of the goodness and generosity and creativity of humanity. You can identify them by their cheerfulness. You will know them by their compassion. When asked how they do it they will tell you about discipline, dedication and the necessity of community. ~ Margaret Wheatley

Our morning Community Meditation group celebrated its 5th year anniversary on March 17th. When COVID-19 hit and we went into lockdown, many people reached out to me for tools to cope with the uncertainty. Looking through my social media feed from that tumultuous time, I found this illustration that someone sent me on March 20th, 2020. Sadly, I can’t find the original attribution. What started out then as a small group of people meeting online has now become our thriving community of diverse practitioners. For many, cultivating a regular meditation practice has been truly transformative and healing.

Just as during COVID, whenever we find ourselves in times of unease, I’m struck by the stark mismatch between the alarm in the media and the goodness of people in my everyday life. They show up for their communities with kindness and generosity. I have to believe that the forces of greed, hatred and delusion are outnumbered by the Warriors for the Human Spirit from the quote shared above. Taking care of our inner lives in sangha as we do in these meditation groups builds the resilience we need to move from good intentions to wise action in service of our shared humanity.