A.J. Mars

CONSIDER THE SOURCE In the work I do with people, it is very important to keep an open mind and open heart to not judge othersto know and believe that we are all struggling in our own way, we all have our demons. No one is above mistakes. Simply, I try not to judge. Still, I hear judgments all the time. When we hear a judgment about another, we should also consider the source, or keep in mind the integrity of the person spinning a story about another. ... I like to do things a little differently. I consider the Source, with a capital S. Meaning, I like to remind myself that we are all connected, in every success, in every failure. We all come from the same Source. A more fun way to put it: It takes two to tango. And really, it takes the whole cosmos. Buddhists call this interdependent arising, how the holiest saint can still be responsible to some degree for the worst criminal. As the Tao te Ching reminds us: What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher? What is a bad man but a good man’s job? We all have a role to play in each other’s lives. We all must take responsibility for the state of the world, for the state of our struggles. In Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell writes: Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future. For us to birth into a free butterfly from the suffocating cocoon of 2020, we must first consider the Source. Not point fingers outside us, but within us. I can do better. And so can you. But we all can do even better together... As One Source... As One Love.

WAY TO BE Are these times contagious I've never been this bored before Is this the prize I've waited for?... Now as the hours passing There's nothing left here to insure I long to find the messenger Have I got a long way to run Have I got a long way to run Yeah, I run Collective Soul, Run In 2021, we still have a long way to run before we can escape the long shadow of 2020. Many of us desire the old days. Many of us desire a better tomorrow. Many of us run from now. Whenever I have the urge to run after something I desire, I am at my best if I just sit and wait for what wants to run to me. Like many, I have a deep longing. And my longing takes work. I have a quiet desperation, in the words of Henry David Thoreau. And sometimes it’s not so quiet at all. It roars. It screams. It howls. But as my spiritual teacher Peter Evans @petermevans once told me, Wherever you are is exactly where you need to be. This may not be true for others, but it is at least true for me. I’d like to think it’s true for everyone, but they just don’t know it yet. I once ran into a Showrunner on the street who told me he had a writing job for me in mind. He liked my mindfulness posts. And I got the job. I didn’t do anything to get the job other than be me, at the right place, at the right time, exactly where I was meant to be. And if you are here in this now then you are meant to be. And quite literally, you are meant to BE. Not to run, but to just be. I’m tired of running. Is it okay if I just sit here a while? If you stroll along and stumble upon me, feel free to sit by my side. If you know me, I guarantee I miss you, I guarantee I love you. If we have crossed paths in this life, you have touched me, I promise you this. So why don’t you sit beside me for a while? I have nowhere to go, but I do have somewhere to be. With you and me. We is always the best place to be.

PERFECT LOVE As magical as this shot is from Haiku weeks ago, I know I am not all made of light. But the true test of any relationship is if you’re willing to do the work to love the complete picture of someonenot just the light, not just the shadow, but all that a person represents. ... In love, we can neither demonize or idolize. When angry, remember the moments that they were there for you. When in bliss, cherish their humanity, too. I am grateful for those that always hold both sides of me in their reality. For those that slay illusion. I promise to always do the sameto appreciate the devil in you, as much as the angel. To love a human as a flawed but beautiful being is the truest, deepest love. And when you love their flaws, you truly see how perfect they are. Never forget it: Despite everything, the good and the bad, I think you are perfect. Because you’re so not. And neither am I. We are just human.

THE WAR FOR PEACE In this day & age, many of us struggle with striving for more and more and more. We can get caught up in the rat race, and I am no different in this struggle. I too get trapped by desire. But the Tao te Ching reminds us that true love is a presence without desire. ... When the mind is not clinging to the next big thing, the next moment, one can truly be there for someone in THIS moment. To do so, we must whiteout the white noise. This is a practice of patienceto sit in a moment as long as possible fully present before racing after the next thought or thing. And I am reminding the people that I work with that 2021 is a test of patiencelike a 2020 Part Two, the quarantine sequel no one asked for. With work, studies, clients and trying to have a normal life during quarantine, I too am finding my patience tested. I want it all now, rather than taking what comes to me, when it comes to me, and slowly. Recognizing this, I am taking a moment to slow down. To soften. To yield. To surrender. To accept. I challenge you to surrender, too... For 2021 will take even more patiencea true love that is presence without desire. A being without clinging. The most open of hearts. Like a towering castle, an open heart has its roots in the earth, but with gates that stay for any visitors. All wounds are welcome here, for I am as scarred and flawed as anyone. But I truly believe: the bigger the scar, the bigger the heart. So, roll up your sleeves. I’ll show you mine. You show me yours. We will trade war storiesthe wars that led us to peace.