This little spontaneous heart-to-heart essay was inspired by a recent discussion on FaceBook. No editing or scripting, just thoughts to give more thought to:
“Love others the way you’d love to love yourself. Love yourself the way you’d love others to love you. Be the love that others would love to dare to feel for themselves.
Trust me, it won’t be a sacrifice. And it won’t be your folly or your doom. You’ll never need to act “perfect” because that’s impossible, unnatural, and it’s just not you. Or me. Or anybody.
Jesus in deep meditation with His Heavenly Father
Instead, decide to be a growing affirmation of all that’s good and natural and glad about YOU. Dig deep to explore with freedom!
This struggle will make you tough in your new-found gentleness. This process of releasing what is deadening will make you come alive.
Because when you decide to be reborn as yourself for the first time in your life– as a REAL human being focused on growing with greater awareness in your own warm skin– others will see you as if for the first time. Their hearts will flock to you even if their hearts remain awhile shut..
Why? Because they will welcome you as proof of the validity of their own dream to fulfill their own desperate hopeful desire to awaken themselves..
Knowing this is the growing nature of humanity– to grow spiritually and emotionally honest in our own skins– you will know you are never alone, never defeated, never a loser, never a waste.
Instead–because you try, because you care, because you somehow start to KNOW some mysterious essence of what’s REAL– you are a living champion.
Happy Passover, Easter, and springtime of the soul to you.”
-Rev. Scott Ufford
Passover & Eastertime, 2014
Hi Robert,
Thank you for asking-I’m glad you find this unique portrait of Jesus inspiring. It holds a special place of honor on my altar at home!
Fact: I bought my copy at a NYC event for Sri Amritananda Mayi (a wonderful lady nicknamed Amma, also called “The Hugging Saint”). I don’t know who created it, but it’s deep. So copyright isn’t mine to give or refuse. My feeling is, as long as you don’t use it for any commercial purpose whatsoever it’s probably okay. Let me know if you agree to this & I’ll send you my photo used here.
PS Robert- I’m glad you’re presenting on Mindfulness in the context of Christian spirituality! May your projects grow & grow! (I just completed a 2-year Certificate Program in Contemplative Psychotherapy at Nalanda Institute, under the wing of Tibet House of NYC. Last year’s focus was Mindfulness & this year’s, Compassion. I learned that I have a lot to learn as I unlearn… So I appreciate what you’re doing, and apologize for my late response as I finally got my website un-hacked & am scrubbing its hull clean for guests again!)
Hi!
I like your image of Jesus in deep meditation.
I would like to use it in a presentation about mindfulness in context of christian spirituality.
Would this be o.k. for you?
Kind regards
Robert