Cathy's Blog!

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Compassion

Today, Andy Borowitz writes a serious column on who understands the Bible better, the Pope or Trump. Here’s his first example.

Pope Leo: “When the light of forgiveness succeeds in filtering through the deepest crevices of the heart, we understand that it is never futile. Even if the other does not accept it, even if it seems to be in vain, forgiveness frees those who give it: It dispels resentment, it restores peace, it returns us to ourselves.”

Trump: “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.”

I picked up an interesting book at the library, The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires by Sophie Pinkham. It’s a fascinating look at the importance of forests in our lives. In one scenario, I was reminded of the Zen Story: Is that so? In the story, what happens is met with equanimity, non-judgment, and non-attachment.

In the 1950’s, Russia began building the Kakhovka dam. In June, 2023, they blew it up. “Eighty villages were flooded, one hundred people died, and forty nature preserves were swallowed up by the water. The southern reservoir that had once powered a hydroelectric plant flooded into the Black Sea, along with land mines and an array of chemicals that soon caused a toxic algae bloom.” Tragic, yes?

And yet, “But after a year, the reservoir was covered in native willow trees as high as three meters tall, as well as poplars, a green sea. This youthful stand is now Europe’s largest floodplain forest.” Now they aren’t planning to rebuild the dam which was both environmentally harmful and inefficient.

And so, though it may be challenging at times, as much as we can, we can pause and ask Is That So?

I bought a book for my grandson with the same message. That’s Good! That’s Bad! by Margery Cuyler. Back and forth we go.

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Morning

The crescent moon was bright in the sky this morning. Squirrels are running up and down the trunk of the redwood tree and bouncing on the branches. Birds are singing. A crow plays the windchime. I sit enchanted. I’m with the words of Thich Nhat Hanh:

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world revolves.”

And so it is – our reverence and appreciation opening and turning like keys.

Posted on April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Cleansing

It’s been raining for three days. We lost power yesterday for almost twelve hours but we have a generator for back-up. I was involved in a workshop on Zoom, Mahamudra and the Luminous Mind: The Third Karmapa’s Aspiration Prayer.

Our aspiration, our prayer was for world peace. The focus was on unifying emptiness and luminosity, on cultivating awareness, love and compassion, and wisdom. This is both simple and complex, so I sit here now honoring the simplicity, the gift of it, even as I read the news of Trump. I’m with the challenge of holding it all with compassion and equanimity.

I’m with these words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, spoken after the end of World War II, during the military tribunal he organized to hold Japanese leaders accountable for their own horrific war crimes, including the sack of Manila in 1945. “The soldier, be he friend or foe, is charged with the protection of the weak and unarmed. It is the very essence and reason for his being.”

Our commander-in-chief is guilty of war crimes. Let’s hold him accountable. We need to heal.

On another note, I highly recommend Lee Klinger Lesser’s book, Return to Our Senses, A Path to Stability in an Unstable World. It’s a font of guidance and wisdom, and personal examples of how to work with what comes.

She quotes astrophysicist Ethan Siegel: “The air we breathe contains one atom from every breath that every human has ever taken. In fact, right now, if you take a deep breath and then exhale, by the time a year goes by, approximately one atom from that breath will wind up in every other person on Earth’s lungs at any moment in time.”

Like the study of Mahamudra this weekend, that’s hard for me to visualize, and I understand it’s about connection. We’re not separate; we are one! Let’s cleanse and purify the air we share with each loving and compassionate thought and breath. We do it for ourselves, all sentient beings, and our beloved planet Earth.

May we slide and climb and build and maintain bridges for All!

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Support

My good friend Emma sings with the Threshold Singers of the East Bay. They sing to the terminally ill and dying. They also sing for newborns in the NICU. They sing for those crossing thresholds of birth and dying. I recommend the article and listening to the songs. Be soothed in support.

https://www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/threshold-singers-east-bay-lullabies-dying/

The leaves of Sticky Monkey plants were used as bandaids by the Native Americans.

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Joy

Today I read the words of Ajahn Sumedho: A life without generosity, respect, and giving to others is a joyless life. Nothing is more joyless than selfishness.

I contrast what Trump and cronies are doing with what Grant did when Lee came to him to surrender the Civil War. From Heather Cox Richardson:

But the images of the wealthy, noble South and the humble North hid a very different reality. As soon as the papers were signed, Lee told Grant his men were starving and asked if the Union general could provide the Confederates with rations. Grant didn’t hesitate. “Certainly,” he responded, before asking how many men needed food. He took Lee’s answer—“about twenty-five thousand”—in stride, telling the general that “he could have…all the provisions wanted.”

By spring 1865, the Confederates who had ridden off to war four years before boasting that their wealthy aristocrats would beat the North’s moneygrubbing shopkeepers in a single battle were broken and starving, while the Union army, backed by a booming industrial economy, could provide rations for twenty-five thousand men on a moment’s notice.

Tuesday this week added extra trauma for many of us as we worried Trump would carry out the horrific things he said, but I continue to see how essential it is to stay with what we know is true, humane, and good. We do it for ourselves and the world. We feed and care for those who are hungry, and in need, and in that, we teach and feed ourselves on Joy which includes sorrow and grief, and happiness, tenderness, and care!

We push uphill to enjoy the downhill ride.

Exploring and creating stories down by the silent creek

Posted on April 8, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Sanity

How do we stay sane amidst the cruelty, tragedy, theft, greed, and lies of the Trump administration?

My grandson has been staying with us, so I’m with the beauty of this world. Together, he and I watch the light change in the sky as we observe the squirrels, birds, and trees.

Walking briskly to the Presidio playground

Downtown San Francisco from the Presidio Tunnel Tops

Joy in the flight of a paper airplane, one of many made in the last few days.

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Presence

I’ve had Mohs surgery before but because there were complications this time, it has been a bit of an ordeal. My eyes are swollen and ringed with purple and black. My head is heavy. I’ve been in pain. What I’ve learned though as I ice the area and drink green tea, is the power of meditation, just being with the breath. Since that’s all I can do I feel the power in it, the relief. We have this tool and ability all the time but we are often busy with our “to-do” list and miss the point. Presence is a present as we know and when we’re forced to stop and pause, it’s even more clear. Each breath is a gift.

Posted on March 31, 2026March 31, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Peace

I’ve just re-read two books: The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba, history’s greatest martial artist, and Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hanh. I recommend them both as an anchor in these times of being led by those who are ruled by power and greed, with no awareness of a world we share, a world of interdependence and connection.

You can read Morihei’s three visions in his book translated by John Stevens. I give two.

“After defeating a high-ranking swordsman by avoiding all his cuts and thrusts (Morehei was unarmed), Morihei went into his garden. “Suddenly the earth trembled. Golden vapor welled up from the ground and engulfed me. I felt transformed into a golden image, and my body seemed as light as a feather. All at once I understood the nature of creation: the Way of a Warrior is to manifest Divine Love, a spirit that embraces and nurtures all things. Tears of gratitude and joy streamed down my cheeks. I saw the entire earth as my home, and the sun, moon, and stars as my intimate friends. All attachment to material things vanished.”

“The third vision was in 1942, during the worst of the fighting of World War II and in one of the darkest periods of human history. Morihei had a vision of the Great Spirit of Peace, a path that could lead to the elimination of all strife and the reconciliation of humankind, “The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood as a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek competition are making a grave mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst sin a human being can commit. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent slaughter – it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.”

Make Empathy Great Again: Stop War, Hatred and Division

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Beauty is Truth

In John Keat’s poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, he writes that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

I saw that yesterday at the No King’s Protest. I stood and waved with others at the exit to a freeway. On a beautiful Saturday like yesterday, people are on their way to West Marin and the beaches. As two lanes merge into one, they’re going slowly or often stopped, so it’s an intimate exchange as we stand on the sidewalk with our signs, music playing and joy and cheer waving with our signs. It’s festive and invigorating, and a huge percentage of the people in the cars join in, waving, honking, smiling, and they are so beautiful. They understand compassion, unity, care and the flowing energy and expansion of love. Those who drive by compacted, ignoring and frowning are not beautiful. They are a downer. Of course this is my perspective. One might say I resonate with those on “my side”, and yet, there is beauty in seeing movement, resonance, response, awareness, and joy. I saw so clearly that love and care for others is a beauty treatment and brightens the heart and eyes. We share a path and unity and care for all carves and curves the places to nourish and share and know enough.

Another grandmother – grandparents were out for our grandchildren!

Posted on March 27, 2026March 29, 2026 by Cathy Edgett

Movement

Yesterday I was at Muir Woods and saw the sign It Took a Movement to Save This Place. Tomorrow is No Kings Day, a movement to save our democracy. May we all be there. When I checked this again, I realized, I had posted All Kings Day, and maybe that works too, as in a democracy we all have a vote, and decide how our country can care for All.