reaching out
For times when there are no words, what else can we offer one another?
The Garden of Life (For Ukraine), Bernadette Cay 2022. Collage on paper.
Prior to recent events, I had signed up to host our meditation community’s online weekly Zoom sit. The event was scheduled for Saturday, February 26.
This presented a tender challenge as a facilitator: how might we both a) acknowledge what’s going on in Ukraine, and b) resource ourselves to respond, in our own lives and as a community?
In her book Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach describes the two "wings" of acceptance: seeing clearly and holding our experience with compassion.
The first part refers to the practice of mindfulness: feeling and observing what’s coming up in your experience–the pain, the sorrow, the fear, the difficult feelings–and sitting with it without trying to judge or control. The balance is to meet that with compassion, which Tara Brach describes as “the kindness of a mother holding her child.”
No small feat, even in our daily lives as individuals. What came to mind was the power of community.
voice of an elder
First, I sought to bring in the voice of an elder. I played a clip from a talk given by the late venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. For more context on this selection, learn more about his Life Story. The talk later describes his encounter with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., further reinforcing this historical perspective. Tara Brach's recent podcast episode expands on similar themes.
the power of community
Next, to bridge this perspective to our individual lives, I shared an excerpt from a piece by Thich Nhat Hanh about community (emphasis mine):
“When we throw a rock into a river the rock will sink. But if we have a boat, the boat can carry hundreds of pounds of rocks and it will not sink. The same thing is true with our sorrow and pain. If we have a boat, we can carry our pain and sorrow, and we will not sink into the river of suffering. And what is that boat? That boat is, first of all, the energy of mindfulness that you generate by your practice. That boat is also the sangha—the community of practice consisting of brothers and sisters in the dharma.”
attuning to take aligned action
Finally, we sat for 45 minutes in silent meditation. Several of us did metta. The idea behind this approach is captured in this quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Here is one led by Thich Nhat Hanh for reference. The Insight Meditation Society is leading a free 15-minute meditation series if you’d like to practice in community.
And from this connected, resourced place–one that has borne full witness to the light and the shadow–may we support one another with our mutual presence, and may the right actions from each of us come forth.
Together,
Bernadette