In your own
heart, what does the word peace evoke? How about the word equanimity?
Most of us appreciate peace deeply. To feel peace is to be in a place without all the stuff that troubles us. Fear, anger, anxiety--pain of all kinds.
Equanimity for most of us is a less-used word. Yet if we want to have more peace, eventually, we'll have to become more familiar with equanimity.
Equanimity is calmness and composure--especially in a difficult situation. Equanimity is peace in a non-peaceful place. Peace, when it comes, just comes. Equanimity, remarkably, is something we can learn to cultivate.
Equanimity is woven all through the lovingkindness practice I've been writing about the past couple of days. Mindfulness is shot through and through with clarity and compassion--seeing clearly and loving dearly. It's the stuff we 'practice' in formal meditation so that it gets embedded in our minds and hearts. Over and over and over--the brain 'just sees' and the heart 'just loves.' Clarity and lovingkindness are what we practice.
In one way it's unbelievably simple. Just notice stuff without any BS. Then just kindly accept what we notice.
So the lovingkindness practice we do, this re-teaching a thing its loveliness, is half the work.
Sometimes this is the half we need to work with. Working with it is what gets it embedded in us. And as compassion-kindness-love get embedded in us, it spills out and spreads through our lives.
Neither the concept nor the work is hard. We just work with it regularly.
Most of us appreciate peace deeply. To feel peace is to be in a place without all the stuff that troubles us. Fear, anger, anxiety--pain of all kinds.
Equanimity for most of us is a less-used word. Yet if we want to have more peace, eventually, we'll have to become more familiar with equanimity.
Equanimity is calmness and composure--especially in a difficult situation. Equanimity is peace in a non-peaceful place. Peace, when it comes, just comes. Equanimity, remarkably, is something we can learn to cultivate.
Equanimity is woven all through the lovingkindness practice I've been writing about the past couple of days. Mindfulness is shot through and through with clarity and compassion--seeing clearly and loving dearly. It's the stuff we 'practice' in formal meditation so that it gets embedded in our minds and hearts. Over and over and over--the brain 'just sees' and the heart 'just loves.' Clarity and lovingkindness are what we practice.
In one way it's unbelievably simple. Just notice stuff without any BS. Then just kindly accept what we notice.
So the lovingkindness practice we do, this re-teaching a thing its loveliness, is half the work.
Sometimes this is the half we need to work with. Working with it is what gets it embedded in us. And as compassion-kindness-love get embedded in us, it spills out and spreads through our lives.
Neither the concept nor the work is hard. We just work with it regularly.
Breathing in I notice what hurts.
Breathing out I rest with what hurts.
Breathing in I fill with lovingkindness.
Breathing out I am grateful.
.
.
