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Quote by Joy Harjo

“In my community, we are taught that leadership qualities include humility, compassion, a sense of fairness, the ability to listen, preparation and carry-through, a love for the people, and a strong spiritual center that begins with a connection to Earth.”

Quote by Joy Harjo

Work

Catching the Light

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Author

Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is an American Indian poet born on May 9, 1951. Her work blends poetry, music, and visual art, exploring Native American culture, identity, and the female experience. Harjo is known for her unique voice and profound emotional expression, and her poetry has won numerous literary awards. more

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“Meditation means awareness. Except for meditation, nothing makes a person find his inner being, it changes a person. If meditation is progressing, then the only criteria of its progress are love, the only criteria for its progress is compassion. A man of compassion always thinks about you, about your needs. Love always thinks of the other, the ego only thinks of oneself. Love is always considerate, the ego is absolutely inconsiderate. The ego has only one language and that is of the self. The ego always uses the other; love is always ready to serve.”

“And what did he do when he saw the unclean? What was his first impulse when he came across prostitutes and lepers? He moved toward them. Pity flooded his heart, the longing of true compassion. He spent time with them. He touched them. We all can testify to the humaneness of touch. A warm hug does something warm words of greeting alone cannot. Gut there is something deeper in Christ's touch of compassion. He was reversing the Jewish system. When Jesus, the Clean One, touched an unclean sinner, Christ did not become unclean. The sinner became clean. Jesus Christ's earthly ministry was one of giving back to undeserving sinners their humanity.”

“Beloved one You are not something that has been created. You did not come into the realm of being from non-being. You are a wonderful manifestation like a pink cloud on the top of a mountain or a mysterious moonlit night. You are a flowing stream. The continuation of so many wonders you are not a separate self. You are yourself but you are also me You cannot take the pink cloud out of my fragrant tea this morning And I cannot drink my tea without drinking my cloud I am in you and you are in me If we take me out of you then you would not be able to manifest as you are manifesting now If we take you out of me I would not be able to manifest as I am manifesting now We cannot manifest without one another We have to wait for each other in order to manifest together.”

“Christ got angry and still gets angry, for he is the perfect human, who loves too much to remain indifferent. And this righteous anger reflects his heart, his tender compassion. But because his deepest heart is tender compassion, he is the quickest to get angry and feels anger most furiously--and all without a hint of sin tainting that anger.”