By Kirsten Mowrey
We practice for these times, for times like this in the world. We go to our mat, under our shawl, sit on our cushion, to find peace amid the rubble of grief, rage, and fear. We attend to our practice precisely so that when the tides of emotion are strong, so is our practice. We return again and again to our breath, to our body and mind in the moment, returning to ourselves. Our ancestors developed these practices because they knew—they knew that we could be swept off our feet by our emotions, our ability to choose wisely blinded by the redness of rage or the waters of our grief. They knew these times would come and that we would need skills to remind us of our common humanity, of our hearts, of our kinship. We practice so that we may return to ourselves in the hurricane of emotions, return to center and be able to choose how to live our values out in the world.
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about living in Vietnam during the war, saying “I didn’t say or do anything, because I knew that doing or saying things while I was angry would create a lot of destruction. I paid attention to just breathing in and out. I sat down by myself, closed my eyes, and I recognized my anger, embraced it, and looked deeply into the nature of my suffering. Then compassion arose in me…. Hatred and anger left my heart. I was able to see that our real enemy is not man, is not another human being. Our real enemy is our ignorance, discrimination, fear, craving, and violence.” Calming the Fearful Mind (p.11-12).
So, we practice. While we practice breathing, we also practice mutual care. Care for ourselves and care for our communities. We connect with friends who have kin affected by world events, breathing with them. We make sure people in our community feel safe, that fear and violence are not spreading. We make sure that our Jewish and Palestinian neighbors feel safe walking their dogs, taking their kids to school, getting their groceries. We be present with our own fears, rage, and grief in our practice so that we do not spread it indiscriminately.
We also care for ourselves. Would you daily eat a diet of spicy chicken wings and Red Bull? Probably not, but that is how our 24 hour news cycle effects our brains, as well as our social networks. Remember: the more time you give social media and television, the less of your attention you have for what matters to you. Your attention is precious and limited, how do you wish to use it? Where and with whom? I am not advocating for emulating an ostrich, but modulation and temperance; if I cannot sleep for worry, I am not rested, I yell at my children and then I put more fear and stress into the world. Or I am short tempered with my beloved, or rage at the retail clerk who is simply the one in front of me when I burst.
Finally, please care for yourself as you would anyone else who is suffering. We are all suffering right now, including yourself. Do the best you can, as we all do, to practice compassion for yourself. Be kind to yourself. Turn toward what nurtures your roots, so that you can be a gift to the world.
