No matter where you are on the political spectrum, this has been a bruising year. The election is over, so now where do we go from here? There is so much division, anger, and even hate—all of which don’t lead us to happiness, peace, or thriving as human beings. We’ve been the subject of so much misinformation, disinformation, and lies that it’s hard to know where to start the healing.
Now that the election is over, I want to think about what is important to me: my meditation practice, increasing my ability to be compassionate, kind, less reactive and somehow finding my way towards healing the division in this country. That last one is a lofty goal but I’m only speaking in my corner of the world—family, friends, and my neighbors.
Just a few days ago, in my local sangha people were talking about how to do just that. I found 3 things to be very helpful and I’m passing them on to you.
1. Balance and Focus—How do I find balance in my life? Connecting with important people in my life, avoid reading inflammatory anything, spend some time in nature, and soak up the calm and peace that is there. Focus on 1 or 2 important things that would lessen the helplessness, sadness, or fear. Feel my feelings but don’t get caught into a vicious cycle of feelings that can only disrupt my balance and focus. Act wisely.
2. When is ‘efforting’ enough? Skillful Effort is part of the 8 Fold Path but when do we go too far? Spending inordinate amounts of time in activities that only stir us up with little to show for it. I did that over the pre-election season, trying to keep up, reading, and searching for context or facts from memes.
Barbara O’Brien wrote: ‘The most basic, traditional definition of Right Effort is to exert oneself to develop wholesome qualities and release unwholesome qualities.’
Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says, “The Fourfold Right Diligence (another word for Effort) is nourished by joy and interest. If your practice does not bring you joy, you are not practicing correctly.”
The Buddha taught that practice should be like a well-tuned string instrument. If the strings are too loose, they won’t play a sound. If they are too tight, they will break. Practice should be nourishing, not draining.
How much effort is enough? When is it too much? I put a lot of effort into this past election. I’m tired, so this question really spoke to me. It was a question raised by one of the members. Our practice requires effort, living in this world, and trying to improve things for the better requires effort. But when do we stop? When is enough, enough? When does it veer into obsession, overdoing?
3. Solve one problem. This came from a member who was a teacher who had a student who wanted to solve all the problems he was given for homework but until that date, he hadn’t solved any problems. The teacher said to forget about ‘solving all the problems’, just solve one problem! For today, it’s doing the laundry, cooking dinner, and writing this talk. When that’s over, I’ll address another ‘problem’.
I hope this helps you. If you’ve found other things that have been helpful, please pass them along in the comment section. I could use all the ideas and I’m sure the rest of us can too!
Thank you all for your continued support. Please share this post with anyone who is also struggling.
Wonderful advice. So many feel that if you are not outraged then you don’t understand the problem. Those who disagree arrived at their points of view through a sequence of conditioning. Compassion for them opens compassion for ourselves. (Nothing original here. )
Thank you for your comment. Frequent outrage is exhausting and doesn’t constructively address the issue. I’m trying to connect with organizations that don’t indulge in outrage but are focused on solving a problem. However, I must admit that It’s a challenge to treat people with respect when we disagree. Biting my tongue, listening, and asking questions rather than ‘making my point’.