You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.  ~Kahlil Gibran

 

What awakens you each day? Does the morning’s soft light stir your soul? Early hours remain my respite with the calm of dawn providing a pristine backdrop for soaking in the strength of the quiet. Stillness at any time lends a receptive mix of focus and rest to daily practice, allowing for peaceful reflection to guide the dance between being and doing.

Sharon Salzberg, best-selling author and Buddhist meditation teacher, continues to share her journey of the heart with the world, teaching loving kindness meditation or metta, the “unconditional sense of connection that touches all beings without exception, including ourselves.” Her mantras combine sentiments of compassion, equanimity and sympathetic joy, shaping a practice that focuses on gratitude and goodwill. By spreading the miracle of cultivating and circulating love, she embodies the concept of living from the inside out. As contributor Erin Floresca writes in this month’s “Wisdom of the Heart” article, we now have scientific evidence of the internal guidance system that realigns us into states of grace and clarity.

This issue celebrates yet another year’s closing and a holiday season infused with the spirit and spice of generosity, directly in accordance with the wave of spiritual activism sweeping our planet. Our senses are heightened with ample opportunity for sharing and cheer; although for those up against life challenges, the season’s light can seem dim. Thankfully, the glow of higher awareness sparked by a motivation of kindhearted service provides the vital counterbalance that helps us know how and where to give.

Whether it is carrying a peaceful presence of benevolence into each daily interaction or taking on social change, acting from a place of empathetic intuition naturally offers gifts of kindness that heal the world. Such caring creativity is illustrated in our spotlight articles, which highlight tremendous lives of loving kindness in action.

May you all celebrate simple joy each day, carrying on in the spirit of the season with purpose and ease.

~Jacqueline Mast & Kendra Campbell, Co-publishers