Change the World: November 3 - 9

Over the past month we've progressed through the first four aspects of mindfulness and now have arrived at the fifth:

• Self-care

• Present Moment

• Freedom

• Heart Connection

• Change the World

The world can be a beautiful and miraculous place. The world can be a violent and scary place. I live between these two realities. With the election just days away, I'm feeling fearful and anxious. No matter the outcome, we are a divided nation. Lots of people are suffering and feel discouraged. Mindfulness doesn't fix things. Mindfulness doesn't make bad things go away. However, mindfulness provides some pretty useful tools.

The first lesson of mindfulness is to nonjudgmentally observe the thoughts and feelings of our inner landscape. We don't pretend they aren't there. We don't push them away. We make room for joy and sorrow, light and darkness. We learn to hold all of it with compassion. We discover the way to deal with life's difficulties is not to go around them but to find a way through them. And along the way, we experience gratitude for the beauty of nature, a community of people who love us, and unexpected moments of grace.

Image generated by Adobe Express

Come Wednesday, I don't expect to have solutions. I imagine there will be much confusion, lots of ugly words, and maybe even acts of violence. But I will still have my mindfulness practice. I will continue to sit in silence and seek a place of centeredness within. Sometimes the best I can do is bear witness to the messiness of life, to stay present especially when I want to run away, to remain open-hearted even when my natural instinct is to close my eyes, and to trust love always wins. That's my plan. Let's see if together we can change the world.

Practice

“Voting is an act of presence, an act of love and showing up.”

from Lion's Roar

In the US, Tuesday is election day. Please make your voice heard and then take time to tend to your heart.