dedicated to all who read this - now and to come ….
Grief seeps through the cracks —
Comet free in boundless space
cries and cries and cries …
🌌 Reflection
Grief isn’t a flaw.
It’s not weakness.
It’s the cry of a comet in infinite night, a reminder that even in vast space, something in us longs, aches, weeps.
Zen begins right here.
Not by fixing. Not by fleeing. Not by condemning.
But by seeing.
By feeling.
Boundless Loving Heart doesn’t turn away from anguish —
like the Light of the Bright Moon sees the shadows.
Grief seeps through cracks —
and those cracks let in the light of the Bright Shining Moon.
🌹 Ten Faces of Compassion
Crying without giving yourself advice.
Breathing through your anger.
Making tea in silence, savoring its scent.
Saying “no” without guilt.
Saying “yes” without fear.
Letting someone drift away — and still wishing them well.
Skipping dessert — as a kindness to your strength.
Saying “I’m hurting” — and letting shame rise and fall with your breath.
Offering silence instead of answers.
Letting today be enough.
🔓 Ten Radical Permissions of Compassion
You can feel everything — it will not destroy you.
You don’t have to be okay right now.
You can rest if you’re exhausted.
You can care — without fixing yourself.
You can hurt without hiding.
You can begin again. Now. Here.
You can love what hasn’t healed.
You can be proud of small things. There are no small things.
You can let go — of people, plans, expectations — and grow strong and well.
You can hold your pain like a child … tenderly. Tenderly …
🧘 Practices for Grief
The Rose Garden
Name your sorrow. Place it in a vase with roses. Keep the flowers fresh.
The Sunrise
Gaze at the morning light. Whisper: This is changing. This too brings new growth.
Butterfly Breath
See yourself with wings in a meadow. Breathe. Let sorrow drift away, even for a moment.
🌊 The Great Flood
Grief washes away what you thought you were —
the weights, the walls, the old names.
And it reveals your Boundless Loving Heart.
Every tear is a step into the Great Flood —
the flood that drowns illusion,
and uncovers the doors in stone walls,
the paths among briars,
the gardens waiting to bloom.
📌 Reality Check
1 in 5 U.S. adults reported anxiety or depression last year.
Nearly 60 million have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
Nearly 13 million reported serious thoughts of suicide.
Grief is not rare.
It is not strange.
It is the common cry of humanity.
Zen does not erase grief.
Yes — a stone door may be shut, and a path blocked.
And perhaps that door cannot be opened by key or by magic.
But in the light of the Bright Shining Moon …
we see how the path may branch.
🪞 Insight in Grief
Like a great mirror held in the noonday sun,
grief reveals everything:
pain,
dreams,
despair —
… and limitless loving strength
rising in the deep dark vastness
of the shimmering starry night sky …
✨ For the Reader Who’s Struggling
Your mind may be fog right now. That’s okay.
Even fog has beauty — and the Bright Moon still shines behind it.
You are not broken.
You are acorn, becoming oak.
And even in grief, your strength is flooding the world.
🚀 1-Minute Zen Challenge
🌕 Step One: Identify.
Notice one grief or weight you’ve been carrying.
🌕 Step Two: Feel it all …
Don’t fight it. Breathe with it. Let it rise and fall.
🌕 Step Three: Bold tender action.
Do one small act of compassion — for yourself, or for someone else.
Feel how even in grief, joy can flood your moment.
🧩 Resistance Check
“If I let myself feel this, it will destroy me.”
No.
Feeling opens the gate
to your limitless, loving, living energies …
Endless tears.
Deep breaths.
📖 Micro-Koan to Ponder
The comet cries in space —
free to cry, free to breathe,
free to feel …
free to grow …
🖋️ Write-It-Down Reflection
Where does grief seep through the cracks in my life —
and what light comes through with it?
🧭 Compass Phrase
Breathing limitless loving …
🙏 Zen Blessing
May the Bright Moon and shimmering stars shine gently in the deep vast night of your grief.
💙 With ALL HEART,
Michael Gabriel ✨
In the Light of the Bright Moon™
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