<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Lovely Ron. Thank you. Susan<br id="lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature"><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Mar 8, 2025, at 1:08 PM, Ron Nadeau via Thespiritexpress <thespiritexpress@lists.mcn.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="3">THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF ATTITUDINAL HEALING: </font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="3"><br></font></div><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px;"><b><font size="3" style="font-size: 18px;">1. The essence of our being is Love. </font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="3"><br></font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="3">~~I will be sending out one principle a week for the next 12 weeks~~</font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="3"><br></font></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="3">~ The Writing below by Oren Jay Sofer is about “...navigating the storms of our time”.</font></div><div style="text-align: start;"><br></div><div style="text-align: start;"><br></div><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Oren Jay Sofer: Love as the Practice of Our Time</b></span><br><font color="#5856d6"><br></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“I believe what is called for now is something quieter and stronger—a wise balance of self-care and enduring, radical love for one another.</span><br><font color="#5856d6"><br></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“When we allow suffering to teach us, it strengthens us. Over time, we discover a quiet confidence—not because we avoid hurt or loss, but because we understand its universal and temporary nature. And in that knowing, there is freedom. Not from life’s hardships, but from the fear that they will crush us. This is the power of the dharma: to free us from fear, isolation, and despair, to steady us in the midst of it all.</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“To do this, we need nourishment. Some of us might need time in nature. Others might need connection: to speak with a trusted friend or sit quietly in community. Taking small, meaningful actions can soothe helplessness and channel anxiety into purpose.</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“But none of this can be sustained if we’re relying solely on external conditions to settle our hearts. We need something deeper than momentary pleasure, sturdier than distraction.</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“Where do we find refuge when the world feels like too much? What does the heart truly know at its core? For me, the answer comes back to love. </span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“Not love as sentimentality or a fleeting feeling—but love as an inner resource. Love as a steady, sustaining force. Love as the deepest knowing of our relatedness with all of life.</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“Love transforms grief by reminding us that we hurt because we care. Love transforms fear by reconnecting us to one another. Love transforms anger by guiding it into courageous, wise action.</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“Love isn’t only something we offer outwardly. It’s something we return to inwardly, again and again—a well we draw from, a practice we cultivate. When the heart breaks, love mends it. When the mind spins out, love brings it home. “</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“This needn’t be abstract. It happens in small, everyday ways. Love might look like stepping outside to feel the wind on your face. Love might sound like telling a friend, “I see how hard this is for you.” Love might mean turning off the news, cooking a meal, or resting your hand on your heart for a breath or two.”</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“Slowly, gently, these moments sustain us. They reconnect us with our inner resources so that we can keep showing up—for ourselves, for one another, and for this fragile world we share.”</span><br><font color="#222222" face="helvetica neue, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif" size="3"><span style="word-spacing: 1px;"><br></span></font><span style="font-size: 1rem; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif; word-spacing: 1px;">“This is the power of love. Not to try to fix everything. Not to tidy the chaos of life. But to hold us in its embrace as we navigate the storms of our time.”</span><br style="text-align: start;"><font color="#5856d6" style="text-align: start;"><br></font></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Thespiritexpress mailing list</span><br><span>Thespiritexpress@lists.mcn.org</span><br><span>https://lists.mcn.org/mailman/listinfo/thespiritexpress</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>