Make Haste Slowly

Don't be in too much of a hurry
to solve all your doubts and problems,
as the Masters say, 'Make haste slowly.'

I always tell my students not to
have unreasonable expectations,
because it takes time for spiritual growth.

~Sogyal Rinpoche


Of Note: And we might add to this "a number of lifetimes" as well. That's why it's always a good idea not to beat up too much on ourselves as we grope forward in the darkness with every one else. Speaking of darkness, my sister's picture above illustrates beautifully the light that shines in each of us ceaselessly--even when we don't sense it through the dark veil.

Today's Weather Report: Snow fell this morning lightly, but then the sun popped out when I was meditating. It does that many days before being enclosed again in the clouds. Last night the haloed full moon reflecting the sun shown like daylight. Not enough for me to get any good pictures, however. That's OK because the magic of the moment would most likely not have been caught digitally anyway.

Watch For Change Snippet: History books tell a tale of a black Congressmen whose name was George White, who was elected to office like other blacks following the Civil War. However, by the turn of the century, prejudice raised its ugly head in the form of Jim Crow laws, and blacks were no longer elected. Thus, as he was stepping down in January 1901, Rep. White prophesied a time when blacks would return to the political scene and bring reconciliation. He could have gone away hate-filled, but his eloquent words carry another tone altogether:

"This, Mr. Chairman, is perhaps the Negroes' temporary farewell to the American Congress, but let me say Phoenix-like he will rise up some day and come again. These parting words are on behalf of an outraged, heartbroken, bruised and bleeding but God-fearing people. . .The only apology I have for the earnestness with which I have spoken is that I am pleading for the life, the liberty, the future happiness, and manhood suffrage for one-eighth of the entire population of the United States."

Mr. White might be smiling now with the ascendancy of a black man to the Presidency. But to get there, many men and women of all races laid down their lives in the civil rights movement mid-century. Only after that "Second Reconstruction" were blacks once more elected to office making the coming "miracle" a possibility. Our hats go off to all of them, but especially to the little known man who predicted it all along.