where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
-Saint Francis of Assisi
Tag: peace
Our Own Life is Our Message.
What do you want to be remembered for?
The shiny sports car?
A fancy corporate title?
Or is there more to life than accumulation and status?
I want to be remembered as a compassionate person.
As someone who reduced the amount of suffering in this world.
Who left this world a little more peaceful then when I arrived.
Not through talk alone but through mindful action.
Our own life is our message.
With Aloha,
Johnny
Lost.
I’m lost in the negativity
Drowning in the sea of news
Death counts on my mind
Economy crashing
Endless news of this pandemic
Fear & anxiety
Run through my mind
The 2nd pandemic
Of our times
I know this will all pass
Impermanence ends all
All we can do is have faith
Faith that things will work out
The way they are suppose too
Karma.
For every action
There is an equal & opposite reaction
No right or wrong
No morality
No judgment
Just an observation of the law of nature
When we cause unneeded suffering to non-human animals
Humanity suffers
Suffer from viruses like covid-19, sars, and swine flu
Suffer from pood poisoning, air pollution, & toxic water pollution
When we justify violence
We can become violent, cold, and apathetic
Not seeing reality through the lens of compassion
Insanity
Repeating the same mistakes
Expecting different results
We can support peace
We can support our mother nature
Invest in solutions to wean ourselves off meat, dairy, and eggs.
Whether this be whole food plants, plant-based alternatives, or cellular meat
We must choose another path
If we want to thrive into the next century
As individuals we can support the future we would like to see
Do we want a peaceful world full of compassion with less suffering & illness?
Or do we want to support violence and unneeded suffering?
I don’t judge anyone for supporting animal agriculture for I did for 28 years
Humanity must decide which path it would like to take
Not through force but through awareness, education, & compassion
Practicing Peace.
I recently went to a Vegfest in my local community. The food was great and overall the message was a positive one. A message that we can help stop climate change, transform our health, and vote with our wallets to stop cruelty against animals through eating a plant based diet. A few of the vegans were so angry at meat eaters though. One of the presenters went on an angry tangent about decapitated pigs heads at the grocery store. She yelled at the crowd that she couldn’t understand meat eaters(even though she ate these products most of her life). It was a friendly reminder to me that true compassion encompasses all beings, not just those who live the same way as you. The way of peace doesn’t condone violence but seeks to understand others instead of judge. True compassion encompasses Hitler, Stalin, and Charles Manson.
If we want others to be more peaceful we must be peaceful, it’s as simple as that. Maybe we could just focus on ourself, making our own life our message to others? Our message of peace will be watered down if we communicate in a violent way. Practicing non-violence is something MLK, Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha, and mother Theresa all agreed on. It’s something they wanted us to practice on a daily basis. The next time we complain about the world affairs we could ask ourself “how can we expect the world to be at peace if we aren’t?”
Focus within. One lit candle can light a thousand candles.
With Aloha,
Johnny Hoffman
Kobe & Gigi.
Some of us won’t grow old
Some of us will die too soon
They will not see another beautiful sunset
They won’t see their children grow
Their death is a tragedy
But an important lesson for us all
That life is short
Too short to hold grudges
Too short to be cruel
Too short to hate
Hold the ones you love closely tonight
For we truly don’t know what lies ahead
Show gratitude for your life
Show love to all
RIP Kobe Bryant, Gigi Bryant, & the 7 others who lost their lives today
You all will live on within your family & friends
Paving My Own Path.
Culture wants me a certain way
Break under the pressure
Bend my values
Ignore my instinct of compassion
Indulge my ego
Feed my darker side
How do I pave my own path with such pressure?
Constant flashing lights
Tell me to eat foods against my values of health & compassion
The talking heads on the screen tell me to fear the world
They have enticed me my entire life to choose greed, hatred, fear & apathy
Dividing me into a million labels
For me to fear the other
Not today
I will choose another path
Paved with compassion, understanding, & love
This is the path of the peaceful warrior
A path that doesn’t fight greed, anger, & hatred
It just focuses on growing peace by showing compassion, love, & understanding to all
True Compassion.
If you can show compassion to Hitler, Stalin, & Genghis Khan
You know true compassion
For compassion & love isn’t just for the innocent
But for those who harm other beings
Violence, judgment, & hatred will not bring peace
Only compassion will
Bring awareness that hatred lives within all human beings
Including ourself
If we truly want peace we must seek to understand
For love is the absence of judgment
Breaking Free of Status.
I have worked many jobs
None defined me
I have been a dishwasher
Yet managed corporate accounts
I have cleaned toilets
Yet managed a sales territory
I have taken out many of trashes
Yet have a college degree
Money & status do not define who we are
Our salary, benefits or lack of do not determine our self worth
Unless we allow them too
Ranking ourself & others by salary
Worrying constantly about how we portray ourself to others
Let’s break free today
The mental suffering of what others think of us isn’t worth it
Darkness, Transformation, and Redemption.
The darkest moments of my life led to the most transformation. The darkness brings self-reflection, awareness, and focus. This is only if we do not numb the pain with alcohol, drugs, and/or overeating. When a family member suddenly dies or a relationship ends, we can have moments of pure awareness and clarity on what led to this moment in time.
My first experience with this transformation was when I was honest with my ex-fiance about my infidelity. She left me the following day. At first, I numbed myself with distraction but when her parents moved all her stuff out of our studio I was forced to sit in a dark & empty apartment. My first reaction was to run away and move to a new place. Luckily I chose to stay in my empty studio. The following weeks I cried every night in sorrow. Pain, suffering, and anxiety filled each moment until one day I picked up a book called “Buddhist Bootcamp” by Timber Hawkeye. Suddenly I was meditated 1 hour a day, reading, writing, eating healthier, and working out every day. I quit smoking and significantly cut down on drinking alcohol. My days were now filled with joy instead of sorrow. This all took place from March-May 2015 in San Luis Obispo, CA. Since then I have fallen back into old habits, relearn lessons, and also had new transformations from suffering. I began a journey of self-love, peace, forgiveness, and acceptance; a journey I am currently still on (and always will be). There is no destination on this path, only the love of the journey itself.
The famous Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh says “No Mud, No Lotus”. The beautiful lotus flower grows in the darkest and muddiest environments; I truly believe humans are much the same as the beautiful lotus flower. The right environment for growth usual consists of awareness, compassion, and love while we are suffering. Once we learn how to suffer, we suffer much less. Suffering can actually be the most transformative process of life if we allow it to be.
Through the darkness, we can transform ourselves and become the light to see out of the darkness. We accept the darker side of ourselves (and the world) with compassion, understanding, and peace. In this practice, we feed the light while accepting the dark. This allows for peace instead of war. The key to transformation is to sit with ourselves through the pain instead of distraction or numbing the pain. The coldest winters of my life have always ended with a warm inviting spring. All is impermanent, even the darkest of times.
With Aloha,
Johnny Hoffman
The Narrow Path 