{"id":2269,"date":"2020-03-23T10:31:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T00:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=2269"},"modified":"2020-03-23T11:31:10","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T01:31:10","slug":"staying-grounded","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/staying-grounded\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying Grounded"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What I Wish I Could Say<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019d like to be able to say to you: \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\nthe situation is under control. The pandemic, tumbling stock markets, social\nisolation, canceled flights, surging panic, and illnesses and deaths caused by\ncoronavirus (COVID-19) will soon be a thing of the past. Before long we\u2019ll all\nbe able to go back to our normal lives and tell stories about how we got\nthrough this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, I can\u2019t \u2014 not because I have any special intel, but\nbecause I simply don\u2019t know. And like you, I\u2019m scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zen speaks of \u201cdon\u2019t know mind,\u201d a kind of open, groundless\nawareness that doesn\u2019t fixate on outcomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Rev. angel Kyodo williams explains in the forthcoming\nissue of Buddhadharma, practicing \u201cdon\u2019t know mind\u201d involves tolerating the\ndiscomfort of uncertainty. And it is a practice: \u201cWhen confronted with the\nunknown,\u201d says williams, \u201cthose of us who have not trained our minds enter a\nreactive state in which panic, aggression, or indecisiveness overtake us. In\norder to avoid such feelings of overwhelm, our minds seek out confirmation of\nour pre-existing ideas rather than tolerate the discomfort of not-knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re probably asking yourself, \u201cSo how\ndo I meet this moment without adequate training or a pre-existing playbook that\neven comes close to the reality that\u2019s unfolding?\u201d The answer, it seems, is one\nbreath at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her article \u201cIn Times of Crisis, Draw Upon the Strength\nof Peace,\u201d Kaira Jewel Lingo writes, \u201cSo much of the stress and the feeling of\nbeing overwhelmed comes from all that we are projecting onto the future, all\nthe fear. But in this moment, right here, there is the ability to recognize\nfear, to be with fear, and to not be swallowed by it. There is non-fear, and we\ncan touch that. But if we\u2019re running, then it\u2019s fear that\u2019s running the show.\nIf we can stop, we have the chance to touch into something deeper than being overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Touching into this moment is not about denying the suffering\nthat\u2019s happening all around us or in us. Rather it is an act of compassion for\nourselves and others that helps our innate wisdom to emerge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When attended to with gentleness and love, connecting to\nthis moment \u2014 including whatever suffering may be present \u2014 reveals just how\ninterconnected we are with one another and also the planet that sustains us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview in the May issue of Lion\u2019s Roar<\/em> magazine, Joanna Macy says, \u201cOur pain for the world \u2026 reveals that we are far vaster than we ever imagined ourselves to be. This crumbles the walls of the little separate ego and moves naturally into seeing with new eyes \u2026 You see that you are part of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pandemic and cascading crisis has shown us that we are\nall in this together \u2014 not in some philosophical sense, but in a very literal\nway. Our survival depends on each other and our willingness to self-isolate,\nheed warnings, help out neighbours, make sacrifices, and step up like never\nbefore. May we do so and take these hard-earned lessons of interdependence to\nheart, one breath at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Tynette Deveaux, editor, Buddhadharma: The Practioner\u2019s\nQuarterly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Lion’s Roar newsletter@lionsroar.com\n\n(https:\/\/mail.google.com\/mail\/u\/0\/#inbox\/FMfcgxwHMPnfGSgCJHfJrxgWpqxtZZTr)\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I Wish I Could Say Here\u2019s what I\u2019d like to be able to say to you: \u201cDon\u2019t worry, the situation is under control. 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