Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World

We don’t all share the same degree or type of pain, but we share the vulnerability of loss, of change. We can lie in bed feeling helpless and unseen.

We can’t stop a thought or emotion from arising. No one can. But we can be empowered by our ability to relate to thoughts and emotions in a whole new way—learning not to buy into them while at the same time not unfairly blaming ourselves for what no one at all can keep from arising.

I am reminded to look for what is whole, integrated, undamaged, even in the face of devastation or loss.

But in truth, this self-nurtured happiness is replete with inner abundance and resourcefulness—the wellspring of energy within that allows us to serve, offer, create.

Agency takes over when it isn’t enough to simply feel bad about a situation, write a disconsolate tweet, or vaguely note that something should be done.

Ironically, spending quality time by ourselves may help us undo the perception that we are all alone.

There may be many strong contributing elements to a situation that we are oblivious to because they don’t tend to touch us directly. There’s quite a lot each of us is trained to take for granted. There’s quite a lot each of us fails to notice.

This tendency to regard people as “other”—as categorically different from ourselves—extends also to places and things: they are not ours; they are alien to us.

THE SKILLFULNESS WITH which we act relies on carrying out our intention with sensitivity to and awareness of what might be appropriate to any given situation.