“Lost” by David Wagoner

Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

For a another level of reflection on this poem and an inspiring British recitation of it, listen to this short excerpt of a talk with a young David Whyte: 

https://youtu.be/XO0OjtThqyI

Via White Crane Institute // On This Day in Gay History

 

November 24 Born Baruch Spinoza 1632 - BARUCH SPINOZA, Dutch philosopher was born (d.1677); One of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, he laid the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism. By virtue of his magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, Spinoza is also considered one of Western philosophy's definitive ethicists. He was raised and educated in the Orthodox Jewish fashion, also studying Latin and was thoroughly familiar with European humanism. What exactly is it that caused him to be excommunicated from the synagogue when he was only twenty-four years old? Many scholars have speculated that the horror Spinoza inspired in the Jewish community may have come not only from his espousal of advanced economic theories, but from his espousal, as well, of "Greek love" among impressionable students in the liberal circle where he taught. A Dutch physician, J. Roderpoort, wrote at The Hague in 1897: “Spinoza excites the youth to respect women not at all and to give themselves to debauchery.”  Was Spinoza merely teaching the Greek and Roman classics, with their inevitable passages on pederasty? What were Roderpoort’s motives for discrediting the Jewish philosopher? Was Spinoza, in fact a pederast? It’s all open to speculation.   Today's Gay Wisdom Spinoza 2017 - The Wisdom of Baruch Spinoza If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past. It may easily come to pass that a vain man may become proud and imagine himself pleasing to all when he is in reality a universal nuisance. I do not know how to teach philosophy without becoming a disturber of established religion. Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many. Happiness is a virtue, not its reward.

Via Daily Dharma: Seeing the Whole Process

 Do not fear things that arise in the mind; question them, know them. The truth is more than thought and feelings, so do not believe and get caught by them. See the whole process arising and ceasing. This understanding gives rise to wisdom.

—Achaan Chah, “Walking: Meditation on the Move”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via LGBTQ Nation // A gay kid’s letter to Santa is breaking the internet’s heart

 

Will asked Santa if he can ask God if "He loves me for being gay." Get tissues ready.

By Alex Bollinger Tuesday, November 24, 2020    

 

Will's handwritten letterPhoto: USPS website

 

A letter to Santa sent by a gay kid named “Will” is breaking the internet’s heart.

Each year, the United States Postal Service conducts “Operation Santa,” sending responses to letters to Santa. In many locations, private organizations and citizens can help out, and some of the letters get posted to the USPS website.

The program opens on December 4, but to build interest in the program USPS posted letters from previous years. One of them is from Will, who says he’s gay and asks Santa if he can ask God if “He loves me for being gay.”

Dear Santa,

Do you support the LGBTQ community and if you can speak to god can you tell Him I love him, and if He loves me for being gay.

Thank you

Love Will

No other information about Will is available on the site. It’s not known what he had been told to make him think that God can’t love him if he’s gay, whether he had to hide his letter from his parents and send it secretly, or if he was worried that a response to the letter could out him.

While Twitter is full of straight people saying he’s too young to know that he’s gay – these are possibly the same straight people who ask two-year-old girls if they’re breaking boy’s hearts or three-year-old boys if they have a girlfriend yet – a lot of people just wanted to send Will some support.

WHO IS TELLING THESE QUEER CHILDREN THAT SANTA DOESNT LOVE THEM

— KIE (@kierra3lyse) November 23, 2020

Being a queer kid is so difficult 💔 I hope this little boy knows that God does love him no matter what

— The Evil Wench (@aLilBitWrOng_) November 23, 2020

This hurts my heart so much. I hope will and all the other little lgbtq+ babies know (and get told) they’re so, so loved. For those who believe in Christianity, yes, God loves you. Don’t believe those who say he doesn’t. 😭🥺

— Ashley (@yelhsawo) November 23, 2020

This is what I mean when I say straight cis people will never know what it’s like to be one of us.

— TREVOR🦑 (@bi_oticcharge) November 22, 2020

 

 

Make the jump here to read the original and more