It's been a longer than usual since I have written a post for you. The truth is I have found little new to say other than more of the same catalog of doom.
We're away in California for a few weeks. I've spent almost a week watching the waves and the air surfing pelicans and pondering this very question. How do we show up in this world?
It was written, many millennia ago, that the three roots of suffering, also called the three poisons, are greed, hatred, and ignorance. A regime that not only embodies them, but places them on a pedestal, is sure to bring about suffering.
The antidotes to these poisons are, respectively, generosity, loving kindness, and wisdom. Those who would alleviate suffering are called upon to practice them. That these practices feel more difficult now than ever is another way of saying that they are more necessary now than ever. Perhaps it would help to see generosity in the face of greed, kindness in the face of hatred, and wisdom in the face of ignorance for the radical and subversive acts of defiance and rebellion that they were millennia ago and are again today.
At a time when services for the less fortunate, from USAID to Medicare to local food for schools, are being cut, the need for generosity is clear. While some of the needed fixes lie beyond our reach, others beg for community responses. Many areas have volunteer organizations providing food banks, meals-on-wheels, medical appointment transportation, home repair, affordable housing, shelters, and many other services for vulnerable populations. Plus, we can all check in on our more vulnerable neighbors.
Loving kindness meditation traditionally starts with wishing happiness for oneself, then radiates out to include our loved ones, our neighbors, and eventually all beings.
May I be happy
May my loved ones be happy
May ... be happy
May all beings be happy
Somewhere in that ellipsis are our nemeses: our ex, our boss, and very likely some members of the regime. While "May [insert names here] be happy" may seem like a stretch meditation goal, consider these possibilities: that their greed is rooted in the curse of never having enough; their hatred in a lack of love; their ignorance in their fear; and that our own suffering is rooted in theirs.
For those of us with a scientific background, practicing wisdom can be as simple as upholding science in the face of assaults upon it. There are other opportunities. The leadership community of practice group I belong to has as a guiding principle that The Wisdom is in the System. What does that even mean?
We can think of it as practicing or role in the community with hospitality, curiosity, and presence, so that all can contribute, and the wisdom of the community can prevail.
It has been a trying year, with so much of what I'm working on at risk of crumbling or turning to dust. It's tempting at these times to become attached to outcomes, as the process, in which we are supposed to trust, itself comes under attack. Holding on to these principles help fortify the process and so reach a process-based outcome.
How are you showing up in your community? Please let us know in the comments.
Saturday is the Oceanside Ironman 70.3, where my wife Brenda will be aiming to come back strong from last year's DNF. Look for a post on that next week.
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I have been struggling to write. I am hearing so much from farmers, and yet there is a line...what is mine to tell and what is theirs to tell? I don't know the answer. And as an Executive Director for a non-profit, I wrestle with the need for income (donations or earned revenue) and the need to provide gathering opportunities no matter the cost because of the need. In other words, I think I (like so many others) am living in a world of "yes, and." I'm acknowledging a need to spend hours a day thinking, reflecting, planning...activities that many don't see as action, and yet without them, there is no compassionate response. Thank you so much for your post.
Hello John. Thank you for writing this. Our friend Leslie Boies gave us similar. Talk yesterday at the UU church. She talked about cultivating compassion, bearing witness and being comfortable with the unknown. We need more things like this. Bill and I are helping others with things that they cannot do at the local level. I write my blog, hoping to connect people to The good things and still exist, and Bill as you know, it is very involved with maintaining our water quality. Thank you so much and much love to Brenda and good luck for her on her upcoming race