Perhaps you sensed it in last week's writing:  I've been saddened and discouraged lately by the polarization I see in our nation and in our world.  I see so much harm being done by humans - blinded by the illusion of separation - warring with each other, demonizing each other, denying food and health care to their fellows, injuring and neglecting this planet.

       And there before me, in the blink of an eye, humbling to witness, is my own polarization - a flood of primitive, warlike reactions, stories of gloom, stories about "them".  Here I am, railing, caught up in separation consciousness, contributing to what I rail against.  The irony is inescapable.

       So, I dust myself off and focus once again on softening to spaciousness - gently making room for what's young and wounded within me (without being captured by it), bathing myself in compassion and mercy, allowing that fullness within to generate an eyes-open compassion for all:  a connection, a presence, a healing stance from which constructive action naturally flows.

       "It all starts here," says the peaceful warrior, pointing to his heart as he walks the elusive path of serene doing.