It's All Us

"A friend of mine told me of a guru from Sri Lanka who was asked, What will be the undoing of humanity? He answered: The separation between you and me." - From Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Rolf Gates

In preparation for the Sage Endurance Running and Yoga Retreat I'll be participating in this weekend (event report to come next week!), I've been reading Meditations from the Mat.

This morning's reading focused on Ahimsa - the first yama or "necessary restraint for spiritual life." Ahimsa means nonharming - or as Gates puts it "embracing nonviolence at the level of speech, thought, and action." Nonviolence toward others, our environment, and ourselves.

What a perfect reminder of the intention behind Tri to End Homelessness. Through this nonviolence, we begin to let go of the idea that there are good people and bad people, people who should be helped and people who should be left to suffer, people who give and people who receive. Instead we see that it's ALL us. Through approaching the families that live at Genesis Home with ahimsa and helping to fund the programs that support them , we acknowledge that part inside us that could use some tender compassion. Through helping them, we help ourselves.