Do One Tiny Good Thing In A Corner of the Cosmos: Imagine the Possibilities

“Don’t worry if you feel you can only do one tiny good thing in one small corner of the cosmos, advises Thich Nhat Hanh. “Just be a Buddha body in that one place.”

Last night overwhelmed and exhausted by all the battles, I gave up and climbed into bed early.

Between Tuesday’s fight full of falsehoods about Planned Parenthood, Wednesday’s warnings about global warming and climate change at Color Garden, Thursday’s shooting in Oregon and the ensuing arguments pitting the false dichotomy of mental health against the second amendment, Sunday’s rains which were both a blessing and a curse depending on where you were, Monday’s reflections on the art being made to call attention to our abuse of natural resources by Cynthia Minet and others about plastics in the ocean, and the constant challenge as a college teacher to balance student apathy, curiosity, desire to learn, need to be challenged, with family and work responsibilities and other crises,

I wondered if I could keep on fighting, keep on going in the face of so much resistance. So much resistance. So. Much. Resistance.

I really needed this pick me up today, this reminder not to worry if I can only do one tiny good thing in this tiny corner.

Because that’s all there really is… now. And a small good thing. And another.

Now I pet Ginger Kitty. A good thing. Now I make coffee.  A good thing. Now I write. Now I clean house. Now I grade papers. I can’t do everything. I can’t take all the guns away. But I don’t have to have a gun and that’s a good thing. I can’t stop the flow of plastic into the ocean. But I can reduce my own consumption.

Now I listen to the birds, feel the breeze, watch the monarch butterflies in the barranca. I write.

I fill my mind with compassion and fill this corner of the cosmos with one tiny good thing after another. I am present as I imagine the possibilities.

“Buddha Doodles: Imagine the Possibilities” featured in the book trailer above will available 1/6/16.  The Lead Animator is Nick Schade and the Musical Score is by Gad Emile Zeitune. According to the video notes, author “Molly Hahn began her daily meditative sketch practice in 2011, after a series of traumatic life events. Her Buddha comics, light in heart but deep in intent, greatly helped her in her own healing process. To share and pay forward this joy, she began posting Buddha Doodles online, and was delighted when they quickly found an audience. The Buddha Doodles community is now over 200,000 strong and growing, at BuddhaDoodles.com. Molly lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her feline artisans Bisquit and Basho, and does freelance illustration at Mollycules.com.”

Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo created the silk applique thangkas shown in detail above. His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave his blessings to Leslie’s work and encouraged her to make images that speak to the spiritual aspirations of people across religions and cultures. To learn more, check out Creating Buddhas: the Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas. Her Weekly Wake-ups like this one provide a thread of inspiration to set the week on the path to awakening.