I love you. If people can hate for no reason, I can love.

Dear friends,
Welcome to another edition of the newsletter.

I hope you're finding moments of peace amid whatever this summer is bringing your way.

After my last newsletter, a thoughtful reader reached out about the quote I shared. They pointed out that part of it might feel provocative, especially right now with the suffering and countless tragedies unfolding across the world.

They wrote, “The way things are in the world today is not an obvious cause for rejoicing.” And they were absolutely right.

The last thing I wanted was to sound tone-deaf to the very real anguish so many are experiencing. How can anyone speak of rejoicing when people are losing their lives? When families are being torn apart, and entire communities are living in terror?

I felt that conflict myself. The weight of knowing such pain exists sits alongside my belief that compassion and awareness remain our deepest practice.

I wanted to share part of my response to that reader because I think many of us wrestle with the same tension:

For me, rejoicing has never been about turning away from suffering. It is about staying present to both the darkness and whatever light remains. It is noticing that even in the heaviest times, there are still threads that connect us to our humanity. The fact that we are alive to feel this pain. That we can exchange honest words like these. That we can still reach for each other across the distance.

I cannot stop wars. I cannot heal the world's wounds.
But I can choose how I meet the person in front of me.
I can listen without judgment. I can refuse to pass along the anger that is so easy to carry. I can let my heart be open instead of shutting down.

This is not about minimizing what is happening or looking the other way. It is about feeling the reality of others’ pain so deeply that it moves through us, changes us, and calls us toward greater compassion.

When we truly embrace the suffering that exists, not just our own but the suffering of all beings, we stop being separate from it. We become part of the response.
In times like these, loving-kindness is essential. It is how we tend to our own hearts so we can show up for others. It is how we remember that every single person caught in violence, hatred, or fear was once someone’s beloved child.

A Loving-Kindness Meditation for Our Troubled World

(Prefer an audio version? [Click here to request one.])

Find a comfortable position and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and let your body settle.

Begin with yourself:
May I be safe and protected.
May I be healthy and strong.
May I be at peace.
May I be free from suffering.

Now extend these wishes to someone you love:
May you be safe and protected.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.

Bring to mind someone neutral, perhaps a neighbor or stranger:
May you be safe and protected.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.

Now, if you are ready, include someone difficult. Maybe someone whose actions you do not understand:
May you be safe and protected.
May you be healthy and strong.
May you be at peace.
May you be free from suffering.

Finally, expand your heart to include all beings everywhere. Those in war zones. Those in safety. Those in power. Those who feel powerless:
May all beings be safe and protected.
May all beings be healthy and strong.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings be free from suffering.

The world needs our open hearts.
It needs our refusal to become numb.
It needs our commitment to love, even when love feels impossible.

If people can hate for no reason, I can love. We can all love.

With deep respect for your practice and your tender heart,

Love,
Marco Angelo