Overcoming Our Feelings of Separateness
/“What unites us all as human beings is an urge for happiness, which at heart is a yearning for union...” -Sharon Salzberg
I am always inspired by Sharon's wisdom. Truth is I am not feeling super happy today. I am choosing to hold space for the grief I feel for the suffering in this country and the world. In following the latest political news, I went down a rabbit hole of catching up on a lot of news online. I typically monitor the amount of news I take in because I am sensitive, I learn updates from conversations with friends and family, and existing in this world means there is digital media pretty much everywhere. So—sadness. Then the news of another mass shooting broke me.
As I sit with it in meditation outdoors, I feel better noticing the plants around me... blooming and withstanding is not in their favor, yet they do. I prayed and cried. I hugged my family. I talked with a wise friend.
The thing that keeps nudging me most is what I notice when I am in nature. We can be steady and strong like trees. We can provide shelter and give of ourselves for others in our place on this planet. We do what we can and know that we are all in this together in one way or another. That most enter this world as loving beings. That we share an inner longing. Despite differences and regardless of expressions of our shadow selves. We came from love.
And my sister's reminder this morning: Love wins.
"...for overcoming our feelings of separateness. We want to feel our identity with something larger than our small selves. We long to be one with our own lives and with each other. If we look at the root of even the most terrible addictions, even the most appalling violence in this world, somewhere we will find this urge to unite, to be happy. In some form it is there, even in the most distorted and odious disguises. We can touch that. We can draw near and open up."
What's the mindfulness in all of this?: Compassion, interconnectedness, and gently being with difficult emotions.
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