My heart, our hearts, are torn open with the senseless shooting is Charleston. We have a choice now. We can either be stupefied into more complacency, or we can decide that we will not tolerate this anymore. There is a way to use our torn open hearts to say no more and to say yes to something bigger. Say yes to love and compassion. We will heal only when enough of us want this.

​Please do not let this be just another incident where we shake our heads and decry the horror but yet do nothing else. Dearest people, we can change this! The more of us who recognize our oneness and who live life from this place of connectedness, the more the ripples of good will go out into the world. We can all do better, we can all make changes, however small, we can all act as one.

When there is a devastating natural disaster such as the earthquake in Nepal and surrounding areas, it's a challenge to know which organizations would most benefit from a contribution. Please consider making a donation to the following organizations:
• Unicef
• Oxfam
• Doctors Without Borders

Or the many other aid organizations who are already responding in Kathmandu and other regions.

The Gyalwang Drukpa's organization, Live to Love has started assisting and needs contributions, and Global Giving has setup a relief fund, from which all donations will be contributed to help the affected areas.

If you are not able to make a monetary contribution, do not underestimate the power of prayer and sending energy of healing, comfort, and strength

A grand jury of twelve people – nine white, three black – decided that the policeman who shot and killed an unarmed teenager will not be indicted of any charge. I did not sit on the jury, nor was I present at the shooting. I do not know, and may never know what really happened. Perhaps the policeman really did feel threatened and in the few seconds he had to make a decision, he felt the use of a firearm was the only way to handle the situation. Perhaps in following the strict letter of the law, the grand jury felt they could not, in good conscience, render an indictment. I just don’t know.

​What I do know is this: racism in this country is alive and unfortunately, quite well. I see it in my own life. I well remember my brothers being pulled over and harassed by the police for no other reason other than the color of their brown skin. I hear it in the comments I still get, such as, “You are very pretty for a Mexican girl”, or “For a Mexican, you speak well”. I see it in my extended family where my sister-in-laws niece was killed in a drive by five years ago and the police have yet to catch the killer because, really, they do not have the time/resources to investigate the killing of another black teenager killed in an area where this is an everyday occurrence. And my experiences pale when compared to the 200 plus years of discrimination that people of color have endured, and continue to endure in this country.

I understand the outrage with the lack of indictment of yet another person who has killed an unarmed young man of color. I understand the feeling of despair. However, looting, rioting, destroying property, and possibly hurting someone else is not the answer. How does this possibly help?

What I also know is that we have an opportunity to turn this around; an opportunity to put the outrage into something constructive; an opportunity to turn from hate and know that love really is the answer. Think of the immense changes Gandhi facilitated through non-violence. Civil rights were in large part brought about through determined non-violence. Peaceful actions are more powerful than rioting and looting. More powerful than killing. And more powerful than hate.

​I so urge, no I beg everyone reading this to turn away from violence and use this an opportunity to remember that at our core, we are one. We are brother and sisters all. We have, in this situation, the call to effect change through peaceful and powerful channels.
Today, how will you be peaceable?

I do not stand with France-only. I also stand with Beirut, Lebanon, Kenya, Syria and all the places that are experiencing horrific events. Rather than label individuals from the country they are from, I choose to look at all people as humans, my fellow brothers and sisters, regardless of where they were born. It is only when we stop seeing people from other countries as "the other", will we be on a true road to peace.

In response to the events in Paris, the Dalai Lama said, "we have to begin the change at the individual level and them move on to neighborhood and society.”

Pema Chodron had this to say, “When I think about the tragedies in Paris and in Lebanon and in fact in many places in the world, it seems to me this it's clear that the cause is hatred. Therefore I feel for people that are committed to waking up and being of benefit to others, the key is for us is not to nurture hatred in our hearts. It may seem beyond many of us to feel compassion for the perpetrators, but probably the most important thing is for us not to add anymore aggression to the planet, but to add as much open kindness and open heartedness as we can."

When appalling events happen, we are cracked open to our core. In this vulnerable state we have a choice: we can either respond with more hatred, bitterness and exclusion, or we can use it as an opportunity to look at the underlying cause, to know in our hearts that love is stronger than hate, to know that putting out the energy of hate only adds to what is already out there.

Please don't misunderstand, I am not advocating that if someone has a gun pointed at us that we respond with a hug (although as I write this I am reminded of the brave young man in Tiananmen Square who repeatedly shifted his position in order to obstruct the tank's attempted path around him). There are definite consequences for our actions. What I am saying is that as individuals, if we are serious for peace, we must stop supporting leaders who are guided by greed and power, let our leaders know that this is where we draw the line, not in our name. Work for peace, not war.

​We can do better. We must do better. We can Act As One.

I love the warm invitation of this quote. It doesn't hit you over the head with the admonition to BE GENTLE, SHAKE THE WORLD! Instead, it quietly states the truth and in doing so becomes powerful.

This is how I strive to be, and while I often fall short, I continue to be aware of it and remind myself that in every situation, I have a choice. I can respond in fear and anger, or I can remember compassion.

I remind myself that every act of kindness, no matter how small, makes ripples that affect us all.

We can do better. We must do better. We can Act As One.